If the game is on the line, don’t question Deebo Samuel's willingness to call for the ball.
Sluggish and completely overwhelmed defensively, the 49ers made their way into the locker room at halftime trailing the Detroit Lions by 17 points in the NFC Championship Game, desperately needing an answer from within.
As the team reflected on the first 30 minutes of play, 49ers general manager John Lynch made his way down to the team, according to San Francisco’s CEO Jed York, who made an appearance on Wednesday's episode of the “Up & Adams Show."
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“I love Deebo,” York told host Kay Adams. “He is awesome. He’s very raw. He is very, very to the point. I don’t know if you know, but Lynch went down to the locker room at halftime, and [a] tense halftime, right.”
York shared the description Lynch gave him of Samuel's body language and his exact words as the 49ers’ chances of punching a ticket to Super Bowl LVIII quickly were vanishing.
“You’re down 17 points,” York added. “[Lynch] said, ‘Deebo is just sitting there, just shaking.’ [Deebo] says, ‘Just tell Kyle [Shanahan] to give me the damn ball.’ That’s who Deebo is. Like, he’s ready to take over a game at any point. I’m very, very glad that he’s on our football [team].”
San Francisco 49ers
Now, the 49ers are days away from facing the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium for the Vince Lombardi Trophy after pulling off an improbable second-half, resurging victory against the Lions.
Samuel led all receivers with 89 yards, providing Brandon Aiyuk and the run game with the space to add crucial points on the board for the Red and Gold.
But sometimes the impact goes beyond the statistics.
As Deebo demonstrated to Lynch, often times it boils down to honoring the leadership role and taking initiative.
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