Why the NFC Championship Game is about Deebo Samuel, not the QBs
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz previews the NFC Championship game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
JASON FITZ: The Lions head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. And this is the ultimate storyline of, if you're not first, you're last. And I'm not talking about the teams here. I'm talking about the quarterbacks. We all know at this point, Jared Goff was a first overall pick. And Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant. That's one of the interesting storylines to all of this. But as much as we want to make this game about quarterbacks, this game is about Deebo Samuel.
If you look at the 49ers' effective offense, you have to look at what they've looked like on the field this year when Deebo hasn't been part of that offense. There's been a drastic dropoff. We had these debates early in the season. Is McCaffrey or Brock Purdy the MVP? What about George Kittle? Well, maybe through all of it, what we've learned, based solely on the struggles the team has had when he's not on the field, is that Deebo is actually the most important part of this offense. And if he's not himself or he's not available in this game, you have to wonder what kind of advantage that gives the Lions' defense.
The Lions' defense can be tested. There is no doubt about it. But if they have one less weapon to account for, what difference does it make in this game? Because, don't get it twisted, on the other side of the ball, the Lions can score on absolutely anybody. Part of their struggles late in the season came from Jared Goff carelessly turning over the football. That seems to have gone away. But let's also acknowledge that, for all the players we're going to talk about in this game, Goff is the one that has Super Bowl experience.
Whatever the Lions haven't done as a brand for generations doesn't matter to Goff, who's not that far removed from understanding the brightest lights and the biggest situations. That plays a huge part in this game because remember, Brock Purdy had a great drive in a game where, overall, he maybe wasn't the best version of himself. We can say it was the weather. We can say it was whatever. But what we know right now is that, of the two quarterbacks, the one that's been in this situation before, the one that can be trusted in the biggest games, that one that's earned the benefit of the doubt is Jared Goff.
So the real question becomes, which offense can strain which defense more? We know that the Lions can beat you several different ways offensively. And in fairness, so can the 49ers. The question is, without Deebo or with even less of Deebo than we're used to seeing, can the 49ers get this done? I still think San Francisco is the better football team top to bottom. And I think it's foolish to bet against the 49ers. But if Deebo isn't there or Deebo is a shell of himself, the Lions very well could end up in Vegas, playing for the Super Bowl.