Samuel held out of 49ers practice.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel, a day after the 49ers’ latest loss, stamped a “prayer” emoji onto a social media video showing his sandal- clad feet sitting poolside in Arizona.
Samuel’s latest injury is a foot contusion, though coach Kyle Shanahan said it’s not related to the June fracture that required surgery and kept the 49ers’ offensive catalyst out until Week 4.
Samuel was too sore to practice Wednesday. Shanahan made it sound like the 49ers are being cautious and still counting on him for Sunday when they face Washington in Glendale, Ariz., where they’ve begun their second week of encampment after Santa Clara County’s ban on contact sports for COVID-19 prevention.
Last week, the 49ers also kept
Samuel out of their Wednesday practice to help a troublesome hamstring recover, and Samuel went on to play in Monday night’s 34-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills. All of his team-high six receptions (73 yards) came in the final 18 minutes after the 49ers fell behind 27-10. His foot was injured when he was hit by someone’s knee, Shanahan said.
Even if this contusion is minor, Samuel’s injuryplagued year has kept him out six games, hindering an offense that remains without Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle. Wins have been a rare commodity, and Samuel keyed the past against the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.
COMEBACK KIDS? NOPE >> The 49ers found themselves down 10 points at halftime Monday night. No second-half comeback would bail them out. As usual. They’re 0- 6 this season when faced with a halftime deficit.
They’ve lost 21 of 25 games since 2017 when trailing at halftime under Shanahan (1-7 in ‘ 17, 0-7 in ‘18, 3-1 in ‘19). They’ve dropped 26 of 31 games when down at least seven points in a game, 22 of 25 when behind by double digits.
sked how difficult a comeback is to mount, Shanahan replied: “I don’t think it’s very hard in today’s NFL. It depends how many possessions you get.”
The 49ers had the ball 5
fewer minutes after halftime Monday night, and 2 of 5 possessions ended in interceptions.
“We felt like we could have done some big things,” Nick Mullens said. “The challenge was Buffalo kept the ball for a while and we needed to find ways to stay out there. We felt opportunities were coming.”
Earlier Monday, Washington trailed by 11 at halftime against unbeaten Pittsburgh, and the host Steelers stunningly fell 2317. How did Washington do it, and how can the 49ers mimic that down the road?
“No matter how much you’re down, if you get that many possessions and you’re playing defense the way that they have, you have a shot,” Shanahan said. “They’re playing really good defense. Then they’ve been running the ball well. They made the plays there at the end.”
The only times the 49ers have overcome halftime deficits and won under Shanahan: at Chicago in December 2017 in Jimmy Garoppolo’s starting debut, and three times early last season against Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Arizona.
Their only comeback wins from deficits seven points or more: 2017 at Chicago (eight points); and, 2019 against the Cardinals (16), at the Saints (13) and twice against the Rams (eight points; 11 points).
They did rally, however, two games ago, albeit from just a 3-point deficit as Mullens’ fourth- quarter passing keyed a pair of fieldgoal drives in a 23-20 win over the Rams. It’s the only time Mullens completed a
fourth- quarter comeback in 14 starts (5-9 record).
Of Garoppolo’s 22 winning starts with the 49ers, seven have come via fourthquarter comeback, and that trait is missed whenever he’s not on the field. High ankle sprains have limited him to six starts, half of which he’s left early due to injury. He’s not expected to suit up again until possibly Week 16.
Whether or not Garoppolo is retained for next year, Shanahan is not pigeon- holing what he is looking for in a quarterback, other than one who can win.
“You can win games with any type of quarterback as long as they’re good enough and you can be good enough in hundreds of different ways,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think you have one certain thing you’re looking for. You’re just trying to find a guy who’s better than about 98 percent of people on this planet, or this country. When you find that, you adjust to him.”
Such as with a strong defense, a dominant rushing attack and fewer turnovers. That got them to the Super Bowl 10 months ago.
FLEXEDOUTOFPRIMETIME>> The 49ers’ game Dec. 20 at Dallas just got booted out of the NFL’s marquee time slot — 5:20 p.m. on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” — and into a 10 a.m. spot. The 49ers sport a 5-7 record, and the Cowboys are 3-9.
The national game that day goes to the Browns- Giants.
TAYLOR’S PLIGHT >> Trent Taylor sat with Garoppolo and other injured or inac
tive players in a suite Monday night, but not because of health issues like those that hit him hard after his 2017 rookie season. Simply, he’s fallen down the receiver depth chart, and the 49ers prefer other options on special teams, whether it’s River Cracraft in coverage or Richie James and now Brandon Aiyuk on punt returns.
“He just ended up being the odd-man out with guys being healthy,” Shanahan said of Taylor. “Once you’re not that slot receiver – (Kendrick Bourne) took that over – it’s going to always come down to special teams, and that’s where it’s been unfortunate for him.” HEALTH CENTER >> Defensive tackle D. J. Jones’ ankle injury Monday night should not be a seasonending injury, nor is it of the high ankle sprain variety that has sidelined so many 49ers players, including Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert and, for at least one more week, cornerback K’Waun Williams.
Williams returned to practice in limited fashion after missing the past three games and 6 of 8.
With guard Tom Compton in the concussion protocol for the second time in as many weeks, the 49ers promoted Tony Bergstrom off the practice squad for offensive line depth. Compton started against the Bills before rotating out with rookie Colton McKivitz.
Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley ( hamstring) and defensive lineman Kevin Givens ( personal reason) also were not practicing.