The Philadelphia Eagles have been one of the better teams in the NFC for the majority of the last decade. But to San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, they are just another opponent.
Samuel, who is in Las Vegas preparing to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, was asked about the Eagles during his media availability on Monday. While many anticipated spirited future matchups between Philadelphia and San Francisco after the two teams met in the NFC Championship Game last year, Samuel said he does not feel that the rivalry has materialized.
Why? Because of what happened back in December.
“I consider rivalries close games,” Samuel said, via EJ Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We ain’t going to talk about that no more. That’s over with.”
The 49ers dominated the Eagles 42-19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 13. Philadelphia entered the game 10-1 and went on to lose six of their last seven games, including their Wild Card Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Samuel and his teammates had revenge on their minds entering that Week 13 game. The Eagles defeated the Niners 31-7 in the NFC Championship Game last year after Brock Purdy went down with an elbow injury. Samuel made headlines when he said that playoff game would have been just as lopsided in the other direction had Purdy not gotten hurt.
There is definitely some bad blood between the 49ers and Eagles, and Samuel is probably just trying to fan the flames more by downplaying it. The two teams got into a scuffle during their regular-season meeting that even involved a well-known Philly staffer. There should be plenty more fireworks the next time Philly and San Francisco meet.
