If his interactions with the media are indicative of how he truly feels, then it’s not a secret that Deebo Samuel isn’t fond of the Los Angeles Rams. The dynamic wideout for the San Francisco 49ers takes the NFC West rivalry to heart, which makes his prediction for the Super Bowl slightly surprising.
With days to go until the Super Bowl is played, Samuel went on ESPN’s “First Take” to share that he envisions the Rams defeating the Bengals on Sunday.
When asked about who he was siding with in the Super Bowl, Samuel highlighted Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and Leonard Floyd as reasons why the Rams have an obvious edge over the Bengals.
“My honest opinion, if you look back at the Bengals playing the Titans, they sacked him (Joe Burrow) nine times and they don’t have no Aaron Donald, no Von Miller, or no Leonard Floyd,” Samuel said. “Those guys up front are amongst it. So for me personally, if you can prevent them from getting back there every play, which is kind of hard, then you have a chance. But if not, then it’s going to be a very, very long game.”
Samuel also spoke about the NFC title game between the Rams and 49ers, pointing out that Los Angeles had a great game plan in place to slow down San Francisco’s rushing attack. The Rams held the 49ers to 50 rushing yards on 20 attempts as a team, forcing San Francisco to try and win the game through the air.
On paper, there’s no hiding the fact that the Rams have a clear advantage over the Bengals in the trenches, especially when it comes to Los Angeles’ defensive front against Cincinnati’s offensive line. In last year’s Super Bowl, we witnessed Patrick Mahomes running for his life versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, resulting in a disappointing loss for the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s not a surprise to see players choosing the team that beat them in the conference championship round to win the Super Bowl, as it hurts a little less to know you lost to the Super Bowl champions. Even though it probably hurt him to say it, Samuel believes the Rams are going to be adding hardware to their collection on Sunday.
