Nearly a month has passed since the 49ers suffered another crushing Super Bowl defeat at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco receiver Deebo Samuel finally has put it behind him.
On Tuesday's episode of the “Up & Adams” show, host Kay Adams asked Samuel how he felt about the loss.
“Now, I’ve kind of put it behind me,” Samuel said. “Two [Super Bowl losses] in five years; that’s pretty rough. Being right there, the two that we’ve been in and falling short, it’s just so heartbreaking. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to move on.”
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"People just say 'there's always next year' but I heard that in 2019 and it took four more years to get where we at."
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) March 5, 2024
Deebo Samuel's candid response to losing 2 Super Bowls in 5 years 🔊@19problemz @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/NzxH7QlZl5
Adams then asked Samuel how he was able to put the defeat behind him, with the five-year veteran explaining that he will use this loss as motivation to make it back to the Super Bowl, even though he knows how difficult that will be.
“It’s kind of hard, because basically our job is football, so it’s just like, ‘All right, let’s use this as motivation where you get back in the lab just to put yourself in a position and try to do your best to get back.' People just say there’s always next year, but I heard that in 2019 and it took four more years to get where we're at. So, it’s not as easy as people think to get to the Super Bowl.
"It takes everything.”
San Francisco 49ers
Given how the 49ers had fourth-quarter leads in both of their Super Bowl losses to the Chiefs, it would be all too easy for Samuel and the rest of the team to give up on any hope of hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
However, considering the resolve of Samuel, quarterback Brock Purdy and coach Kyle Shanahan, among others, the team will regroup and refocus on getting over the hump at last.
The recent Super Bowl LVIII loss was particularly traumatizing after the torn Achilles suffered by linebacker Dre Greenlaw while running onto the field, and the miscues on offense and defense that allowed Mahomes to pull out the overtime victory for the Chiefs.
Still, Shanahan believes that the team will come back hungry for the start of the 2024 NFL season, though the team will have its work cut out for them considering how rare it is for a Super Bowl loser to make it back to the big game the following year.