The Kansas City Chiefs travel west to battle the San Francisco 49ers in a game that will feature many players familiar from the team’s most meaningful game in the last decade.
One of those players is Deebo Samuel, who has since developed into one of the best offensive players in the league. Samuel was a rookie when these two teams faced off in Super Bowl LIV, rushing twice for 53 yards, a Super Bowl record for a wide receiver, and catching five passes for 39 yards during the 49ers’ 31–20 loss.
That night was only a preview of his talents, as he is fresh off a first-team All-Pro 2021 season and the focal point of San Francisco’s offense. Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo shared his thoughts on slowing down Samuel during Thursday’s press conference.
“Sometimes when he’s out there, you have to consider him a running back, and sometimes when he’s out there, you have to consider him a wide receiver because he’s both,” said Spagnuolo. “I’ve never seen a guy break as many tackles as he does. But he’s unique. We haven’t faced anybody like this before. The challenges that they have when they put him in the backfield when he’s not in the backfield when they’re moving him and motioning him, they’re all a challenge for us. We’re working on it, and hopefully, we can find a way to limit his explosive plays cause they’re really effective when he’s explosive.”
Samuel ended last season with 77 receptions for 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. He impressed on the ground with 59 carries for 365 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Figuring out how to handle him in situations when he’s lined up in the backfield is at the heart of the challenge for Spagnuolo and his defense.
“You’ve got to make some conscious decisions of what you want to do,” said Spagnuolo. “Do you want to play, man? Are you going to put a linebacker on him when he’s in the backfield? Are you going to put a DB on him? If you do that, it changes the structure of everything else you’re doing. We’re going to pick our spots, but that’s obviously why they (play him at running back and receiver).”
One of the players in the Chiefs’ secondary that will be working on Samuel will be Juan Thornhill. The Chiefs starting safety spoke with reporters regarding the coverage plans for Samuel on Sunday.
“I mean – it’s obvious because of the fact that he’s not just a receiver and he’s not just a running back – he plays both positions,” said Thornhill. “You don’t see a lot of guys that can do that, and he is very effective in both spots, so that’s what makes him really effective and a really good football player.”
The Chiefs will look to limit Samuel’s effectiveness to throw off San Francisco’s rhythm and force them into a one-dimensional game plan, but it will admittedly be a tough task given his versatility.
