Niners' Deebo Samuel unafraid of physicality going into NFC title game: 'I ain't protecting nothing'

The NFC Championship Game is just around the corner, and the 49ers are preparing for the hungry Lions to come into town.

A tall task looked taller at the start of the week, with wide receiver Deebo Samuel on the injury report after hurting his shoulder in the Divisional Round matchup against the Packers, but he proved healthy by week’s end.

Samuel received no official designation on Friday, and head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters he is “good to go” for Sunday’s game. When Samuel was asked about protecting himself physically, the 49ers receiver was quick to respond.

“I ain’t protecting nothing,” he said.

Samuel also explained the grueling processing of getting ready to play this week.

“Right when I figured out it wasn’t the same thing as the Browns game, it was kind of a relief to know it wasn’t a fracture,” Samuel said. “It was just like a deep bruise or whatever. But I’m talking about timeless hours in here, day in and day out, just to get where we’re at right now.”

This is San Francisco’s third consecutive season making it to the conference championship, and Samuels’ fourth time taking this stage. Losing Samuel hurt San Francisco’s offense against Green Bay, but quarterback Brock Purdy rallied his team in Samuel’s absence and secured a game-winning drive while the 28-year-old watched from the sideline.

“That was amazing,” Samuel said. “How the game was going. You know, every game has its ups and downs. You got all the naysayers about ‘Brock this, Brock that.’ But when Brock was needed, he went out there and capitalized on a long drive. The receivers going out there and making plays, (George) Kittle and Christian (McCaffrey). It all started from the O-line. They just went out there and did what they were supposed to do.”

The last time the 49ers faced the Lions was in 2021, when Samuel led San Francisco with nine receptions for 189 yards and one receiving touchdown. However, this Detroit team is a a completely different opponent than it was then. 

Nursing an injury or not, Samuel is prepared to do whatever it takes to get the win and help send his team to the biggest game of the year for the second time in his NFL career.

“A game like this, got to put everything on the line,” Samuel said. “We’ve been here four out of the last five years. Three years, we fell short, and then one year, we fell short in the Super Bowl. It’s kind of like, what is it gonna take? I feel like we’ve got all the things that we need in this building. … It’s all hands on deck, and we know what’s at stake.”

Detroit will also have its superstar receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown, starting as one of Jared Goff‘s favorite targets. Since 2021, St. Brown ranks second for most yards after the catch by a receiver (1,671), while Samuel is at the top of that list (1,838), per Next Gen Stats.

Samuel sees how huge it is to have home-field advantage against the Lions, who are riding a three-game win streak heading into Sunday’s game.

“They’re winning. They’re playing good ball,” Samuel said. “They made it this far, so obviously they’re a good team, but you know everything gotta run through Levi’s.”