The Seahawks learned the hard way not to anger Deebo Samuel.
In the third quarter of Saturday’s Wild Card game against Seattle, the 49ers’ top wideout made a 21-yard reception that ended with Seattle safety Johnathan Abraham twisting his leg. There was no penalty called, and the play only further angered San Francisco – down 17-016 at the time — en route to a 41-23 win.
“I believe anger took control,” said tight end George Kittle. “I don’t know why you’d — first of all, pardon my terminology — want to anger Deebo. If you’re going to do that to him, you’re just going to piss off Trent Williams, who’s one of the scariest people on the football field. You’re going to fire up our defense, going to get our entire team pumped up. I do not understand the purpose of that. My opinion is that it should have been a flag, but it is what it is. They offered us another excuse to flick the switch even higher. I believe this is what we did. I don’t believe a justification is necessary to flick the switch. That inspired us to play a bit more aggressively.”
The 49ers offense took out its frustrations on the Seahawks defense, which was unable to stop Samuel and company as they scored 25 unanswered points, including three touchdowns on three consecutive drives and a field goal.
Samuel, who signaled officials following the play, observed his teammates struggle with the Seahawks and admired their tenacity.
Regarding the play, Samuel stated, “I held back a bit because I was close to losing my temper.” “Our team exemplifies the meaning of ‘IGYB: I’ve got your back’… I felt at the end of the day that this improved our team. As you can see, we walked outside and performed plays.
“It certainly hurts. I believed that I was about to lose it. I just went peaceful.”
Then, he retaliated by taking a pass-and-run play from quarterback Brock Purdy 74 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, a play that accounted for more than half of his team-high 133 yards on six receptions on the night.
“I feared he got injured on it. “I temporarily lost my mind over that,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “I was quite concerned that he was injured. I did not like the way that appeared. The purpose of the play, as I perceived it, appeared awful. Consequently, I believe that enraged a large number of individuals. I believe it angered our squad. I believe you could sense our team’s reaction following that. I wish we were always like that from the first play, but it’s wonderful to watch the players gather together when something inspires them. I am aware that Deebo was irritated, and it was cool that he responded.”
»The 49ers’ Wild Card loss was sparked by the Seahawks’ leg-twist: “Flip that switch.”«