SANTA CLARA — Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk did not backtrack Monday from their harsh criticism of the Philadelphia Eagles after last season’s NFC Championship Game loss.
“I don’t regret nothing I said,” Samuel relayed at his locker after practice.
Six days before the 49ers (8-3) return to Philadelphia, though, Samuel and Aiyuk declined to add further fuel to the flames that burned so intensely after their 31-7 playoff exit last season. Both players expressed after the loss that the Eagles were fortunate that Brock Purdy went down during the opening drive with an elbow injury.
“We definitely know what happened last season. A lot of words went back and forth,” Aiyuk said. “But, despite that, we have another opportunity to play football, and they have another opportunity. Both sides are excited for that.”
The 49ers are especially excited to have a healthy Purdy, the NFL leader in passer rating and completion percentage, just 10 months after tearing an elbow ligament in that NFC Championship Game.
“I’m excited to see Brock every day he steps out there on the field, whether it’s in practice or in games,” Samuel said. “I’m just excited that he’s back.”
Both Samuel and Aiyuk measured their words when it came to complimenting the Eagles (10-1).
“They’re playing really well right now, actually,” Samuel said.
“They have one loss, right? So, yeah. They’re a good football team,” Aiyuk added.
The 49ers enter on a three-game win streak after a three-game losing streak, so they’ve regained momentum, not that they’d ever lack confidence against the Eagles.
Samuel’s offseason critique of Philadelphia could be interpreted more as a defense of the 49ers’ plight, having seen both Purdy and backup Josh Johnson injured in the NFC Championship Game defeat.
“We lost because we played with 10 people,” Samuel told Complex.com in the offseason. “I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome (if healthy). … If we had another quarterback, we would’ve been all right. In that situation, what could you do?”
Samuel earlier called Eagles cornerback James Bradberry “trash” during a Super Bowl-week podcast, and Aiyuk said the Eagles were “extremely lucky” in an interview with TheSFNiners.com.
The Eagles, before losing in the Super Bowl to the Chiefs, fired back at the 49ers’ so-called “bad sportsmanship,” with cornerback Darius Slay responding: “They did a lot of talking, about physicality and all this kind of stuff. Now they want to blame something.”
Eagles talk aside, Samuel and Aiyuk both say the 49ers’ current offense has plenty of room to improve, even though they’re ranked fourth in scoring and third in total yards. Coach Kyle Shanahan, in Monday’s team meeting, pointed out how poorly the 49ers played in the third quarter of Thursday’s 31-13 win in Seattle.
In the fourth quarter, though, Aiyuk caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Purdy on a play that also worked this season against the Bengals and the Jaguars. He released toward the outside on a play-action fake, then broke back in and Purdy found him just before he reached the goal line.
“For sure, watching it on film was more fun. It’s definitely one of my favorites,” Aiyuk said.
Added Samuel: “We had a pretty good game but there’s a lot we can still work on as a team.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com