Deebo Samuel doesn’t view Eagles-49ers as a rivalry: ‘I consider rivalries close games’

LAS VEGAS — Sitting at a riser during media night before Super Bowl LVIII, Deebo Samuel let out a chuckle before taking a parting shot at the 2023 Eagles.

After spending the better part of the last year jabbing at Eagles players and the validity of last season’s NFC championship game, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver has gotten the final word.

“I consider rivalries close games,” Samuel said Monday, alluding to the Niners’ 42-19 win at Lincoln Financial Field in December.

“We ain’t going to talk about that no more,” Samuel added when asked a follow-up question. “That’s over with.”

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A year and change removed from losing to the Eagles, 31-7, in an NFC championship game that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and backup quarterback Josh Johnson left with injuries, the Niners got their validation this postseason with a Super Bowl berth. Their vengeful victory over the Eagles in December turned out to be an inflection point for an Eagles season that ended with an unprecedented collapse and a galvanizing moment for San Fran on the way to Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

It started last February, when Samuel called Eagles cornerback James Bradberry “trash” on the I Am Athlete podcast and said last year’s conference championship game “wouldn’t have been close” if Purdy hadn’t suffered an elbow injury to his throwing arm. A few days later, Samuel poked fun at the veteran corner on social media after Bradberry drew a costly defensive holding penalty late in the Super Bowl loss.

Samuel said he didn’t regret giving the Eagles bulletin-board fodder in the lead-up to the Week 13 rematch and backed it up with 138 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Going into the game 10-1, the Eagles lost five of their next six games following the 49ers loss, a collapse that led to widespread changes to the coaching staff in the last few weeks.

The game also featured a sideline scuffle between Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro and Dre Greenlaw. The 49ers linebacker body-slammed DeVonta Smith in the second quarter after the receiver had stepped out of bounds, drawing a 15-yard penalty. He also drew an objection from DiSandro, who pointed in his face before Greenlaw pointed back at him, grazing the side of DiSandro’s face with his hand.

DiSandro and Greenlaw were ejected from the game and DiSandro was eventually banned from the Eagles sideline for the remainder of the regular season.

Greenlaw said Monday that he and DiSandro cleared the air through 49ers general manager John Lynch, who acted as an intermediary between the two.

“We got word from them that he just apologized,” Greenlaw said. “But I never talked to him.”

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Greenlaw, 26, also said he sympathized with DiSandro when he heard about his suspension, hoping that he didn’t face any financial punishment as a result.

“I hated it for him,” Greenlaw said. “I mean, I really didn’t care, it doesn’t really affect me. I hate it for him, I hope he didn’t miss any pay. I got no hard feelings about it. I don’t really let stuff from the past kind of hold me back.”

Similar to Samuel, Greenlaw said the contention between the Eagles and 49ers this season was behind him. The Niners may have gone into the season anticipating a rematch with the Eagles in the NFC championship game, but the fact that it never materialized as San Fran earned the No. 1 seed and clinched a Super Bowl berth for the second time in four years is consolation enough.

“We were just trying to get to this point right here,” Greenlaw said. “There never really was a rivalry that I felt. They were just another team that we had to beat in order to get to this point. We knew that they were a good team, so we had to go beat them. That’s all it was.”