Three weeks ago, the 49ers were a team on life support, having been absolutely embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals and their second-team offense.
They don’t just hold a playoff spot in the NFC, they hold the No. 6 seed of a seven-team tournament, with a bit of cushion.
But they might need that cushion if their do-it-all wide receiver/running back/offensive weapon, Deebo Samuel, misses any time.
Kyle Shanahan said after Sunday’s 34-26 win over the Vikings that Samuel, who exited the game late in the third quarter with a groin injury, will undergo an MRI on Monday.
The South Carolina wide receiver has been the fire starter for this Niners team over the last three weeks, with his ability to run the ball out of the backfield opening up a Shanahan offense that was stagnant for the first two months of the season.
Niners tight end George Kittle called Samuel “everything” for the offense after Sunday’s game. “We go out in every personnel (grouping) and they don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Yes, Samuel’s emergence as the Niners’ go-to man has directly coincided with the Niners’ success.
And now they enter the home stretch with his status in question and a bigger question looming:
Can they continue that success without him?
Perhaps. After all, Brandon Aiyuk, Elijah Mitchell, Jauan Jennings, and Kittle have been rock solid as of late.
But it’s a big ask.
Because while Garoppolo has been fine on the whole lately, it’d be ideal if his roller-coaster play would stop. His ability to trade horrific throws with quality ones is next-level.
(That said, he didn’t line up under his guard on a critical fourth-and-goal play in the fourth quarter, so he was the better quarterback in Sunday’s game.)
Still, I’m not holding my breath that Jimmy G can up his game to make up for the Niners losing their offensive MVP and a player who was heading towards a Pro Bowl berth and All-Pro consideration.
How important is Samuel? As Kittle highlighted in his postgame comments, Samuel creates mismatches not just for himself, but the entire Niners offense. Defenses don’t know if he’s a running back or a receiver, so they’re never in the right personnel. If you have a good enough TV, you might be able to see Shanahan’s mouth watering.
There’s no one else with the Niners who can play “positionless” football like Samuel. Not on the San Francisco roster and probably not in the league, either.
After all, Samuel was the best running back on the field Sunday — and there were three really good full-time running backs playing. Plus, he went over 1,000 yards receiving on the season in only 11 games.
No one is going to punish opposing defenders in either role quite like Samuel, either.
The last three weeks and wins, the 49ers have been physically dominating their opponents — even the tough-as-nails Vikings.
Credit for this change can go around on both sides of the ball, but let’s be honest, Samuel is the one truly setting the tone, running over defensive linemen, linebackers, and overmatched defensive backs alike.
That physical tone needs to be set every week from here on out if the Niners are to maximize the opportunity they’ve created with this three-game winning streak.
The good news is that Samuel said Sunday that he’s not too concerned about his groin injury. Still, the MRI is coming Monday.
Even if the news is good, this injury can loom large. If Samuel or the Niners coaches — who want to build their offense around Samuel and have the last three seasons — don’t know if they can fully trust No. 19’s body to hold up down the stretch, that puts the season on edge.
As if it already wasn’t.
Some will allege after Sunday that the Niners still need to improve if they want to make the playoffs and win a game.
Others will claim that the 49ers are a team to be reckoned with in the NFC.
But what we’ve learned over the last three weeks is that this version of the 49ers — the one we saw vs. the Rams, Jaguars, and Sunday against the Vikings — is the true one.
They’re static.
Some weeks, this team and its style will create a blowout. On Sunday, this formula created a far-too-close-for-comfort win against an evenly matched opponent. And they’ll surely run up against a team or circumstance that they will not be able to overcome.
This team is a one-trick pony whose trick is quite impressive. That’s just good enough to be better than average in a parity-laden NFL where that could be confused for great.
Yes, these Niners have proven that they’re good enough to play with just about anyone in this crazy league.
So long as they have Deebo Samuel.
