The 49ers trusted Deebo Samuel to get out from behind an early deficit against the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and Samuel delivered.
When the San Francisco 49ers are in doubt, they need to lean heavily on their all-purpose weapon, wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel was the last Niners offensive player to score a touchdown in the NFL playoffs, way back in the Wild Card round against the Dallas Cowboys, and head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense went stagnant early on against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game.
And it was LA that got on the board first, scoring on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Cooper Kupp to go up 7-0 in the second quarter on a long 97-yard drive.
When in doubt, though, Shanahan needed to involve Samuel.
In response, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hit Samuel on a screen play.
The rest? Samuel:
Anyone still asking 𝒘𝒉𝒐?
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 31, 2022
That's ALL-PRO DEEBO#SFvsLAR on FOX/49ers App pic.twitter.com/lkPnzye3M6
Samuel did everything on the play despite having plenty of Los Angeles defenders around him. Breaking tackles, using his stiff-arm, then outpacing the trailing Rams players to scramble for an impressive 44-yard touchdown to tie the game.
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LA was dominating the time-of-possession battle up to that point, so one would have ideally liked to have seen San Francisco chew up some clock, too.
But no one will complain when Samuel turns in a simple play into a house call.
Titans WR A.J. Brown is a big fan of Deebo Samuel
It wasn’t too hard to find reactions from around the league praising Samuel after his impressive touchdown.
Including Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown, the same player who torched the 49ers back in Week 16 to the tune of 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown, who perhaps offered up the biggest endorsement for Samuel after the score:
Deebo is my favorite player in the league
— AJ Brown (@1kalwaysopen_) January 31, 2022
Deebo go crazy
— AJ Brown (@1kalwaysopen_) January 31, 2022
There are plenty of Niners fans who agree with you, Mr. Brown. Plenty.
At any rate, if San Francisco wants to get back into the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, it’ll need Samuel to have another one of those signature games.