The NFC Championship loss in January is not on Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk’s minds; rather, they are focused on the game this season in Philadelphia.
Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, two wide receivers, remained steadfast in their criticism of the Philadelphia Eagles following the team’s defeat in the NFC Championship Game last season on Monday.
Following practice, Samuel said at his locker, “I don’t regret anything I said.”
But six days prior to the 49ers’ (8-3) trip back to Philadelphia, Samuel and Aiyuk refused to douse the raging fires that erupted following their season-ending 31-7 playoff loss. After the game, both players said that Brock Purdy’s elbow injury during the first drive was a lucky break for the Eagles.
“We definitely know what happened last season. A lot of words went back and forth,” Aiyuk said. “But, despite that, we have another opportunity to play football, and they have another opportunity. Both sides are excited for that.”
The 49ers are particularly happy to have the NFL’s top passer rating and completion percentage back in their lineup only ten months after he tore his elbow ligament in that NFC Championship Game.
“I’m excited to see Brock every day he steps out there on the field, whether it’s in practice or in games,” Samuel said. “I’m just excited that he’s back.”
Samuel and Aiyuk were both careful with their praise of the Eagles (10-1).
“They’re playing really well right now, actually,” Samuel said.
“They have one loss, right? So, yeah. They’re a good football team,” Aiyuk added.
The 49ers have regained momentum going into this game against the Eagles, having lost three straight before. That being said, they are never without confidence.
Samuel’s criticism of Philadelphia during the offseason could be seen more as an explanation for the 49ers’ predicament given that Purdy and backup Josh Johnson were hurt during the team’s loss in the NFC Championship Game.
“We lost because we played with 10 people,” Samuel told Complex.com in the offseason. “I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome (if healthy). … If we had another quarterback, we would’ve been all right. In that situation, what could you do?”
In a podcast released during Super Bowl week, Samuel had previously referred to Eagles cornerback James Bradberry as “trash,” and in an interview with TheSFNiners.com, Aiyuk had stated that the team was “incredibly fortunate.”
Cornerback Darius Slay of the Eagles responded to the 49ers’ alleged “bad sportsmanship” by saying, “They did a lot of talking, about physicality and all this kind of stuff,” prior to the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. They want to assign blame now.
Notwithstanding the Eagles’ chatter, Aiyuk and Samuel agree that there is still much space for improvement in the 49ers’ offense, despite their third-place finish in total yards and fourth-place ranking in scoring. During the team meeting on Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan emphasized how badly the 49ers performed in the third quarter of their 31-13 victory over Seattle on Thursday.
However, Aiyuk scored a touchdown on a play that Purdy also completed this season against the Bengals and Jaguars, a 28-yard pass from the quarterback to Aiyuk, in the fourth quarter. Using a play-action fake, he released towards the outside, then broke back in, and Purdy discovered him just in front of the goal line.
“For sure, watching it on film was more fun. It’s definitely one of my favorites,” Aiyuk said.
Added Samuel: “We had a pretty good game but there’s a lot we can still work on as a team.”
