San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel doesn't know what it's like to lose to the Los Angeles Rams. He is 4-0 in his two NFL seasons against the division rival. It's a significant rivalry to the young receiver, too.
After being asked about Samuel during the first meeting between the two teams last year, Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald seemingly acted as though he did not know who Samuel was.
"Who? Who's that?" Donald asked the reporter who inquired about Samuel.
Last year, Samuel had six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown during the first meeting between the 49ers and Rams. He racked up 11 catches for 133 yards during the second meeting to help complete the sweep for the second consecutive season.
Here was Samuel's response after the game.
Last week, Samuel joined the 21st & Prime podcast with Deion Sanders and Jamie Dukes (h/t to Patrick Tulini for the find). He was asked about his early success against the division rival and if he is worried about Sean McVay and company possibly loading up this offseason to make a run at reclaiming the division crown.
"I ain't lost to them in two years," Samuel responded. "I ain't lost to the Rams in two years, so it is what it is. They try to do what we do, but they can't do it like we do it, you feel what I'm sayin'?"
Samuel is referring to McVay running a similar offense to that of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. It doesn't sound like the receiver is losing any sleep over this offseason's exchange of Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford. He has a lot of trust in Shanahan to outsmart opponents, including the Rams.
"The Rams want to play-action all game," Samuel continued. "They ain't dropping back and letting the ball go. They can't do it. They want to play-action, get their little down flats, the little flat routes all game, just let their people run. You ain't gonna win like that."
Sanders responded by saying, "That's why they got rid of the quarterback (Jared Goff)."
What about the 49ers' hopes for the upcoming season? Despite the sweep of the Rams, San Francisco finished with just six wins in an injury-plagued 2020 campaign. Samuel dropped the following statistic to put everything in perspective and explain why he feels 2021 will be different.
"Me, (George) Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk, out of 11 hundred plays, how many plays do you think we played together this past season?" Samuel asked. "One hundred and fifty-six. Me, Kittle, Aiyuk, and Jimmy (Garoppolo), how many plays you think we played out of 11 hundred? One hundred and twenty-six. Now, you do the math for that."
You can listen to the entire interview with Samuel below. It begins at about the 27-minute mark.
