San Francisco got better quarterbacking from Jimmy Garoppolo than the Packers got from Aaron Rodgers, who tossed for just over 100 yards in the 37-8 49ers victory. The Niners defense managed five sacks on Rodgers, while Green Bay got to Garoppolo just three times.
And in the battle between wide receivers Davante Adams of the Packers and Deebo Samuel of the 49ers, well, one might argue the Niners got the better end of that bout, too.
Samuel managed only two catches in the game. But they were big ones, especially the 42-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 1:05 left in the first half that put San Francisco up 20-0:
"It was just an end-breaking route," Samuel said of the play after the game. "When I see the ball, I take the ball. When I turn the corner, all I see is the end zone. I was like, 'I got to get there.'"
And get there, he did.
Samuel embodied both his physical and shifty reputation, particularly the comments about getting the ball, which emulate a certain character in the movie, Friday, for whom Samuel is nicknamed.
"We knew their defense would do a lot of crazy stuff, so we had to find the holes in the defense and capitalize on that," Samuel added.
As a whole, the 49ers offense managed 253 yards through the air on Sunday Night Football. And Samuel's efforts didn't go unnoticed by tight end George Kittle, who caught Garoppolo's other touchdown pass, either.
"He's fun to watch," the Pro Bowl tight end said of Samuel. "When you've got a guy like that, who is playing through a shoulder [injury], it's not fun to get hit when you've got a shoulder issue. And he just said, 'screw it and I'm going to catch the ball, run across the middle and outrun everybody.'
"So when you've got a guy like that on the outside who's not scared, it's fun and it definitely helps me out a lot."
Samuel's production certainly helped out the entirety of San Francisco's offense, too.
Written By:
Peter Panacy
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
All articles by Peter Panacy
Peter Panacy
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
All articles by Peter Panacy