The game didn’t start particularly well for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver/return man Jacob Cowing.Deebo Samuel, not Cowing, was the team’s punt returner to open the game, and Cowing misjudged one of his early attempts, allowing the ball to bounce in front of him. He also dropped a third-down pass on the first series of the second half.But 83-yard punt-return touchdowns tend to make people forget about the bad plays, and Cowing highlighted why the 49ers want him in that position. He might be the team’s fastest player, something he showed off by reaching the sideline ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers’ special teams, picking up a convoy of blockers and sprinting into the end zone.The touchdown triggered an eruption of joy from the 49ers’ sideline, understandable considering Cowing’s hard-luck 2025 season, one that saw him pull a hamstring in the first practice of training camp, then aggravate it multiple times during his rehabilitation.“I thought it was huge,” coach Kyle Shanahan said of the touchdown. “He lost the first (punt) in the lights, which was a big disappointment. It was about a 30-yard change in field position, (and we) were backed up because of it. We got a little frustrated there, but then he definitely redeemed himself on the next one.”Cowing leads our list of standouts from the 41-17 victory, a game in which Brock Purdy, Samuel and a chunk of the offensive starters played one series, and five rookies were featured in starting roles: receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, running back Kaelon Black, guard Carver Willis, defensive end Romello Height and linebacker Jaden Dugger.Top Plays from 49ers @ ChargersThumb upWR Jacob CowingThe only thing the 49ers’ most recent return man, Skyy Moore, lacked last year was elite speed, something that came into play at the end of a pair of returns in which he was taken down just shy of the goal line.That’s not an issue with Cowing, who showed his lateral speed in stretching out the Chargers’ coverage unit. He was aided by punter JK Scott’s not-gonna-risk-it tackle “attempt,” something that’s unlikely in the regular season. Still, Cowing seems the 49ers’ best bet to end a punt-return-touchdown drought that dates to Week 1 of the 2011 season.