Deebo Samuel's historic double fueled by special source of inspiration
The San Francisco 49ers saw Deebo Samuel make two pieces of NFL history during Sunday's 28-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Samuel's 19th rushing touchdown, a one-yard carry that put the 49ers up 21-10 in their 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, broke a tie with Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell as he claimed outright […]
The San Francisco 49ers saw Deebo Samuel make two pieces of NFL history during Sunday's 28-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Samuel's 19th rushing touchdown, a one-yard carry that put the 49ers up 21-10 in their 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, broke a tie with Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell as he claimed outright possession of the record for the most rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver.
It was one of the least spectacular plays of a dazzling effort from Samuel, who had 149 yards receiving, including a 54-yard touchdown reception from Brock Purdy in the second quarter.
With the latest showcase of Samuel's playmaking ability following a three-touchdown display in the Week 13 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles, Samuel became the first player since the merger with at least 100 receiving yards, one touchdown reception and one rushing touchdown in consecutive games.
He joined Timmy Brown (Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, 1960 with Philadelphia) as only the second player in league history to achieve that feat.
No player has more touchdowns since the 49ers returned from their Week 9 bye than Samuel's seven, while he is fourth in scrimmage yards (503) over the course of San Francisco's five-game winning streak.
After completing the sweep of Seattle, head coach Kyle Shanahan described Samuel, who missed the two games prior to the bye and was injured on the first play in Week 6, as being "at the top of his game right now".
There is an influence outside of the 49ers' building helping Samuel reach that level, with the versatile wideout explaining how his son, Tyshun "Deebo" Samuel Jr, has played a pivotal role in him elevating his game.
Samuel frequently shares heartwarming pregame interactions with his son at Levi's Stadium.
When asked about those moments after the win over Seattle, Samuel replied: "Ever since I had him, I can say the level of play and the focus and determination I have for this game has went to another level, because not only am I playing for me, I'm playing for my family.
"So whenever I get to see him out there, he's having a good time. It just gives me more energy to go out there and just make plays."
That extra impactful motivation for Samuel has had a knock-on effect, with Shanahan finding it even easier to get San Francisco's litany of other weapons open in space because of the 2019 second-round pick's post-bye surge.
"Deebo has also strung together a number of healthy weeks here over this last month, which has allowed him really to get back into the groove of things and be more consistent and just being out there and not having to sub him quite as much and him kind of being ready for all this stuff," said Shanahan on his Monday conference call.
"So, it's awesome when you can put him there and the more he does it the more people are going to focus extremely hard to take those away because if he isn't a good look that's usually the results you get. The more we can get people to take Deebo away, there's nothing against Deebo, that means he's a threat and that makes things easier for other guys."
From Shanahan, to quarterback Brock Purdy, the rest of the skill position players and the 49er defense, Samuel is making things easier for a lot of people.
The birth of his son gave Samuel a new reason to do what he does best, and the level to which he has done it in recent weeks is a huge factor in the 49ers producing a standard of offensive football that no team in the NFL has been able to match this season.
49ers get a raft of positive injury news after Week 14
They’ll be breathing a sigh of relief.
