Deebo Samuel admits the defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII has damaged his 2024/25 NFL season as the wide receiver finds himself, and the San Francisco 49ers, last in the NFC West.
Despite suffering injuries and issues throughout the year, Kyle Shanahan‘s side have not managed to reach the heights they did in 2023/24 and subsequently are out of the playoffs picture with a 6-10 record.
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Their form has been one of the shocks of the season as they slumped from winning the NFC Conference Championship to the fifth-worst record in the NFC, and Samuel confessed that for him some of it comes from their 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in February 2024.
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“Not gonna lie, losing a Super Bowl, it puts you in depression,” Samuel told The St. Brown Podcast. “You go months without talking to people, [not] wanting to be seen.
“Losing the Super Bowl is one of the worst feelings, like ever. Think about it in our position; we just went through camp, we just went through the whole season, we got here, we lose.
“And you’re about to do it all over again. It’s just like… Losing the Super Bowl is crazy. I lost in the Super Bowl twice to the same team.”
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The impact is clear on Samuel, who has made just 670 yards (50th in the NFL) on 51 receptions (66th) throughout the 2024/25 season for three touchdowns (77th), although two of them have come in his last two appearances.
Additionally, Brock Purdy has struggled to match the levels of his breakout season in California, whilst the team has also had to manage injuries and absences to Christian McCaffrey (twice), Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall, who was shot in August.
The 49ers are next in action against the 7-9 Arizona Cardinals on January 5 as they look to sign off the season with an away victory at the State Farm Stadium. Kick-off is 16:25 ET/13:25 PT.
