Wide receiver Deebo Samuel revealed that he will be watching Wild Card weekend from the comfort of his couch while consuming wings and fries. The San Francisco 49ers have a vested interest in this weekend's action, awaiting to host the weakest-seeded victor emerging from the first round of postseason play.
Having secured the NFC's top seed and home-field advantage, the 49ers are enjoying some much-deserved rest this weekend. Depending on the Wild Card round outcomes, they will host either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, or Green Bay Packers.
Does star linebacker Fred Warner have a preference?
"I'm excited to watch," Warner told reporters after Thursday's practice. "Just as a football fan, excited to watch and obviously seeing who we play. But I hope everybody loses. I hope everybody loses, and then, who knows? And then we won't have to play."
Warner was joking, but that would certainly be nice for the 49ers, who have struggled to make it past the NFC Championship Game over the past two seasons. Despite his wishful thinking, San Francisco will play one of those teams. A victory would mean hosting the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2019 season, a game the 49ers won convincingly against the Packers.
When asked about the 49ers' recent playoff scars, Warner commented, "You always remember those moments. I think it's important during those times, like last year in Philly, and you see the confetti coming down, you see them with their hats and t-shirts on the stage—they're happy, and you're standing there, you're watching it all happen. I can put myself right back there in this moment.
"And the part that sucks is you can't just blink and you're right back into having an opportunity to go back and do it again. And so you start from ground one—OTAs, minicamp, training camp. You got to build the team back up again, and it feels like just yesterday we were doing that. But you blink, and we're here."