Our countdown to the start of the New Orleans Saints’ 2025 season is down to 86 days, which makes this 86-yard fumble recovery by Tyrone Hughes the Saints Play of the Day. The Saints didn’t win the day, or the battle, or the war, but we’ll take it. Victories were few and far between in this long-running rivalry series with the San Francisco 49ers. Take wins when you can get them.
Future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Mills stripped the ball for a fumble, and it was recovered by Hughes, who returned it 86 yards for a touchdown — a great moment of redemption for him after Hughes fumbled a punt to set up an early San Francisco touchdown. Hughes faked out Steve Young so badly on the return that the Pro Bowl quarterback lost his footing and fell to the turf. You can see it here for yourself.
This was a rare highlight during what was otherwise a miserable series with San Francisco. The Saints beat the 49ers back-to-back between two games in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, but then went 2-14 over the next 16 meetings from 1991 to 1999. So every opportunity to thumb their noses at 49ers faithful was meaningful to the Who Dat Nation.
As for Hughes? The New Orleans native went down in the history books as one of the better playmakers in franchise history, initially for his skills in the return game (he led the league in kickoff return yards every year from 1994 to 1996) but also for his nose for the end zone. He twice scored touchdowns on fumble recoveries and found paydirt three more times on special teams, twice on punt returns and one on a 99-yard kick return. He gave Saints fans something to cheer for when those things were hard to come by.
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