The pressure of the Super Bowl wasn’t too much for rookie 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel. The second-round pick is an “offensive weapon” that Kyle Shanahan uses all over the field, and we saw that in action against the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54.
Deebo Samuel could’ve been Super Bowl MVP if the 49ers hadn’t forgotten about him
Deebo Samuel looked like he was on his way to Super Bowl MVP honors before the 49ers stopped feeding him in the third quarter.
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Samuel was cooking early Sunday, both as a runner and receiver. Partway through the third quarter, Samuel had three carries for 53 yards and five receptions for 39 yards. His rushing yards set a Super Bowl record for a wide receiver, eclipsing the 45-yard mark Percy Harvin set in Super Bowl 48.
Samuel even looked like he could be on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP — until San Francisco stopped going to him and the Chiefs starting to come back. The 49ers became less inventive with their playcalling, which meant that Samuel, their gadget-type-player, barely got another look.
And then they lost.
Not feeding Samuel down the stretch is just one of the mistakes Shanahan made on Sunday. Here’s why:
Samuel had a huge influence on the game — at first
It’s no surprise the 49ers gave the ball to Samuel early. He finished his rookie season with 57 catches for 802 yards and three touchdowns, plus 159 yards and three more touchdowns rushing.
The 49ers went with a Samuel run on their third play from scrimmage, and it paid off big time:
As usual with the 49ers, there were three different players that Jimmy Garoppolo could have handed it to, but it’s Samuel on the reverse who got it. He took it 32 yards and into Kansas City territory.
Samuel wasn’t done on that drive, though. He also got involved with some potential trickery:
On a third-and-2, the 49ers pitched it to Samuel to set up like he was going to throw it back to Garoppolo on the left. That was probably the play call, though Samuel wisely saw the hole in the middle of the line and ran for the short gain to convert the third down.
The 49ers would kick a field goal on that opening possession, but Samuel’s exploits didn’t end there.
After the Chiefs scored a touchdown and a field goal of their own, they took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. Then the 49ers launched a scoring drive that included two big plays from Samuel: a 16-yard reception on first-and-10 from San Francisco’s 30-yard line and an 11-yard reception on first-and-10 in Kansas City territory.
The latter set the 49ers up on Kansas City’s 15-yard-line, where Garoppolo threw a touchdown to Kyle Juszczyk to tie the game.
Late in the third quarter, with the 49ers leading, 13-10, they took over at their own 45-yard line following a Patrick Mahomes interception. Once again, it was Samuel who led them into Kansas City territory:
The Chiefs had single coverage on Samuel with a zone in the middle, and it didn’t take long for Samuel to push his safety back before cutting inside, right to the hole in the zone. Garoppolo dropped a dime to him for a 16-yard gain.
San Francisco scored a touchdown just a few plays later, to go up, 20-10, with a couple minutes left in the third quarter.
Then the 49ers stopped going to Samuel
But that’s where it ended. As the Chiefs mounted their comeback, the 49ers didn’t call any more reverses or trickery — they didn’t even try something simple like a screen to one of their best young playmakers.
Samuel was technically targeted three times in the fourth quarter, but only one of those passes mattered, and it was overthrown:
That play came on a second-and-9 with 9:52 to go in the fourth. The 49ers still had a 20-10 lead, but they failed to convert the ensuing third down.
Of the other two Samuel targets, one was batted down at the line and the other came with under a minute left, when San Francisco had no chance to come back.
Garoppolo completed just 3 of 11 passes in the fourth quarter, while the 49ers ran the ball just five times. They punted twice in the fourth quarter and turned it over on downs, giving the Chiefs time to score on three straight possessions to secure the 31-20 win.
The 49ers probably needed to do more than “get the ball to Samuel” to stay ahead of Kansas City, but his lack of meaningful targets and touches beyond the middle of the third quarter is a head-scratcher.
Samuel, at least, didn’t seem to hold it against Shanahan.
“I believe in Kyle just as much as he believes in us,” Samuel told reporters after the game. “He got us here and we’ll follow his way.”
Samuel had a great game regardless, and a great rookie season that should have the 49ers excited going forward. But both still ended in missed opportunities.
When the 49ers stopped getting Samuel involved, they stopped being able to move the ball. And as a result, they’re going back to San Francisco without a Super Bowl victory.
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