49ers Deebo Samuel goes to Philly as a marked man just how he likes it

The Athletic has live coverage of the Eagles vs 49ers in NFL Week 13 action.

Deebo Samuel has done a lot of talking ahead of Sunday’s game — never mind that it was many months ahead of the game.

There was Samuel before the Super Bowl in February calling Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry “trash.”

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There he was during the Super Bowl essentially saying “I told ya so” after Bradberry was flagged for a critical holding call late in the game.

And he still was griping in May, saying the only reason the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game was, because they had no healthy quarterbacks, they were playing with 10 men.

All of it amounts to a lot of built-up and resurrected chatter that has made Samuel a marked man in Philadelphia this week. In fact, Eagles receiver — and, notably, a friend of Samuel — A.J. Brown recently took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and urged Eagles fans to troll his 49ers counterpart, which is something Philadelphians generally don’t need to be encouraged to do. Insults are the city’s main export. They’re to Philadelphia what steel is to Pittsburgh, what salmon is to Seattle.

Samuel’s account is now full of images of tissue boxes. Someone posted a picture of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts sitting on a throne. There are plenty of images of or references to Haason Reddick (many of them misspelled), the player most responsible for making the 49ers play with 10 men back in January.

There’s a picture of Samuel with his mugshot superimposed over the Morton Salt Girl (because he’s salty) and one with his face on a Little Debbie snack cake box (because Debbie is similar to Deebo). It’s Philly-meets-Twitter-level humor. You get the picture.

What Brown knows, and what many Eagles fans may not, is that this is Samuel’s world. There’s a reason he’s called Deebo and not, say, Fluffy. The guy is not only named for a villain, he got that moniker when he was just a baby. Causing trouble is in his DNA.

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“Deebo a troll y’all, he don’t care,” Brown wrote after Samuel’s remarks in May. “He just wanted to stir up everyone day.”

As Brown will tell you, Samuel is comfortable in the role of chief antagonist. Marked man? No problem. In the crosshairs? Take your best shot. Lightning rod? Bring on the rain.

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This is someone who purposely walked in front of the Dallas Cowboys kicker during the warmup period during last season’s playoffs and then hovered around the kicker when the Cowboys visited Levi’s Stadium this year. This is a guy who took on the Cleveland Browns defense during warmups in Week 6.

"This is the worst thing that can happen for Cleveland. Don't poke the bear!"

The crew reacts to things getting chippy ahead of 49ers-Browns on FOX ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p8cza7Wf8x

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 15, 2023

The last time Samuel had everyone’s attention in the run-up to a game like he does now was at the end of the 2021 season when the 49ers were vying for a playoff berth and Samuel was their top offensive weapon. The 49ers had to win the regular-season finale in Los Angeles to secure their spot in the postseason, and everyone knew their game plan would be centered around Samuel. The Los Angeles Rams defenders were in his ear after every tackle, and they were determined not to let their longtime scourge rule the day again.

They failed. Samuel played wide receiver, slot receiver, running back, quarterback and kick returner and accounted for 164 yards and two scores in the 49ers’ dramatic, come-from-behind win.

The game’s biggest play came late in the third quarter with the score tied at 17. Samuel, who had lined up in the backfield, grabbed a handoff at the Rams’ 24-yard line and took off to his right, ostensibly on one of the outside runs that had sustained the 49ers since the halfway point of the season. The entire Rams defense moved to head him off at the corner.

Samuel, however, had a surprise in store. Instead of lowering his shoulder, he looked up and found fellow wide receiver Jauan Jennings uncovered in the end zone and then lofted a pass for an easy score. He was merely bait on the play and the Rams bit hook, line and sinker.

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It’s a play to keep in mind Sunday in Philadelphia. That’s not to say the 49ers will duplicate it. But everyone will have their eyes on Samuel throughout the game. There are bound to be plenty of signs in the stands with clever Deebo puns and insults. The Eagles defenders will take extra pleasure in knocking him to the ground the way safety Reed Blankenship did when he forced a Samuel fumble in the championship game.

Samuel certainly won’t shy away from the heat. In fact, the best games of his career have come when everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball. Back in 2021, George Kittle and Elijah Mitchell had been injured and in and out of the lineup. Brandon Aiyuk hadn’t yet become Brandon Aiyuk. Christian McCaffrey was a member of the Carolina Panthers. Brock Purdy was a senior at Iowa State. Samuel wasn’t just the focal point of the offense, he was the offense, he was “the one.”

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Sunday’s game is the 49ers’ biggest, most-hyped regular-season game since the finale against the Rams. This time, however, “the one” is one of many. Samuel will have his opportunities. So will McCaffrey, Aiyuk and Kittle. And the risk of being so fixated on the 49ers’ No. 1 antagonist is that you do what the Rams did two years ago and lose track of everyone else.

(Top photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)

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