Deebo Samuel Will Not Play Against the Rams

Since the 49ers drafted him in 2019, they're 7-0 against the Rams in the regular season. And in those seven games, Samuel has scored seven touchdowns -- three rushing, three receiving and one passing.

Bad news for the 49ers.

Deebo Samuel will be out with a hamstring injury this Sunday when the 49ers play the Rams in Los Angeles. In addition, the following players also will not play: Arik Armstead, Kyle Juszczyk and Dre Greenlaw.

All four players are quality starters and their absences will hurt the 49ers, but none more than Samuel's, because he has been the 49ers ticket to victory over the Rams the past three seasons. Since the 49ers drafted him in 2019, they're 7-0 against the Rams in the regular season. And in those seven games, Samuel has scored seven touchdowns -- three rushing, three receiving and one passing. 

Before the 49ers drafted Samuel, head coach Kyle Shanahan was just 1-3 against the Rams. He hasn't beaten Los Angeles without Samuel since 2017 when the Rams quarterback was Sean Mannion.

So Shanahan will have to find a new winning edge. Samuel was perfect against the Rams, because he can catch quick passes which negate Aaron Donald and the pass rush, then he can run over the Rams defenders. None of them want to tackle Samuel. He knocks them over like bowling pins.

Now the 49ers have Christian McCaffrey, and he performed quite well against the Rams just two weeks ago when he was still on the Panthers. McCaffrey is an excellent player, but he's different than Samuel, because McCaffrey won't run anyone over -- he'll make defenders miss if you create space for him, while Samuel creates his own space. Which means McCaffrey can't replace Samuel by himself. He'll need help from Shanahan, who's had his own problems this season.