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Deebo Samuel spent his 2021 breakout season frustrating the Los Angeles Rams: Combining for 5 total touchdowns in three meetings plus sparked both the San Francisco 49ers‘ regular season comeback pursuit in the first meeting versus the Rams, and helping ignite the comeback in the Week 18 road win to seal a final playoff spot.
The 49ers’ All-Pro even took a dig at the Rams’ fan base after S.F. defeated the Rams to end the regular season, saying how SoFi Stadium didn’t have many Ram fans and purposely pumped noise.
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Now that Samuel and his ‘Niners aren’t representing the NFC in the Sunday, February 13 Super Bowl because their NFC West rivals ended their championship pursuit, this means that Samuel is rocking with the “Who Dey” nation and picking the Cincinnati Bengals, right?
Samuel delivered who he’s “rocking with” on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, February 9…and his answer will certainly capture the eyes and ears of the “Rams House,” perhaps even the 49ers faithful.
Samuel Makes his Pick
Long story short, Stephen A. Smith yelled out five words: “I need a pick Deebo!”
And Samuel made his pick — a shocking one at that.
“I’m going to rock with the Rams,” Samuel said. “I’m rockin’ with the Rams on this one.”
Well well…it goes to show that even rivals can support rivals. And in this case, Samuel — who spent this season battling the Rams for a playoff spot then eventually the NFC title — is taking the side of the Rams.
Samuel Gives Reason why Bengals Could Struggle
The “wide back” who played in his first Pro Bowl of his career on Sunday, February 6 in Las Vegas did a breakdown of why the underdog Bengals could be due for a struggle against his rivals from Southern California.
It all starts in the trenches.
“In my honest opinion, it’s going to be, if you look back at the Bengals playing the Titans, (the Titans) sacked (Joe Burrow) nine times,” Samuel explained. “And they (Cincy) don’t have no Aaron Donald, no Von Miller, no Leonard Floyd, and those guys up front is a monster.”
From there, Samuel unveiled a key for the Bengals as they aim to win the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl.
“If you could prevent them (the Rams’ pressure) from getting back there almost every play, which is hard, they got a chance,” Samuel said. “But if not, it’s going to be a very, very long game.”
In tracing back to the NFC title game, Samuel detailed how the Rams were able to counter the 49ers’ dynamic running game — which saw the ‘Niners muster just 50 rushing yards after piling up 156 in the 31-10 romp on November 15 and 135 in the 27-24 overtime win in the season finale on January 9.
“I think me personally, the Rams had a really good game plan because they know we like to run the football,” Samuel recalled. “They put up a few bigs there to prevent the run and they forced us to try to pass it. They (the Rams) was well prepared.”
The entire interview can be watched here.
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