National Football League

Eagles are Deebo Samuel's 'most hated' opponents; WR says 49ers are better team

Published May. 5, 2023 4:35 p.m. ET

Star San Francisco 49ers wide receiver/running back Deebo Samuel did not hold back when asked recently about the Philadelphia Eagles team that beat the 49ers in last season's NFC Championship Game.

"[My] most hated team is the Eagles right now," Samuel recently told Complex Magazine. "100 percent."

Samuel also echoed his teammates' insistence that the 49ers are ‘no question’ a better overall team than the Eagles and if quarterback Brock Purdy had not gotten injured early in that game, the 49ers would have won and advanced to a Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I ain’t going to keep going on about what could’ve happened and what would’ve happened but yeah, it would’ve definitely been a different outcome. … We lost because we played with 10 people," Samuel said.

Purdy was the third 49ers quarterback to suffer a major injury last season, joining Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, when he suffered a torn UCL in his throwing arm as it collided with Eagles pass-rusher Hasson Reddick. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was resorted to inserting journeyman veteran Josh Johnson, having Purdy under center strictly to hand the ball off or having running back Christian McCaffrey attempt passes, none of which worked as the Eagles rolled to a 31-7 win.

Samuel had previously said the 49ers' NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams were his least favorite team and would often be seen exchanging words with star Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey during the teams' semi-annual matchups. The Rams also narrowly beat the 49ers in the 2021-22 NFC Championship Game and went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

But the Rams collapsed in 2022, winning just five games, and traded Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins after the season. Samuel clarified that he has no personal issue with Ramsey except for when the two face each other in games.

"A lot of people think we got beef but in real life, that’s my dog," Samuel said. "That’s my partner but on the field, there ain’t no friends. It’s cool, I was happy to see he was excited to move on and go to a different team."

The Rams lost both games to the 49ers last year as well, extending San Francisco's regular season winning streak over Los Angeles to eight games dating back to 2019. Samuel said that helped the Eagles vault over the Rams to take the title of his most hated.

"Hey man, we done wiped the Rams so many times," Samuel said. "All the trash talk coming from the Eagles fan base and the players, you just get tired of that."

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As for next season, Samuel said that while the 49ers don't like to listen to "outside noise," he believes that the 49ers are more than talented enough finally win that elusive first Super Bowl title since 1995.

"We stay healthy and the sky’s the limit," Samuel said. "From top to bottom, I feel like we the best team in the league."

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