Samuel misses practice with foot injury
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel used a “prayer” emoji on a social media video he posted of his sandal- clad feet, while sitting poolside a day after the 49ers’ latest loss.
Samuel’s latest injury is a foot contusion, though it’s not related to the June fracture that required surgery and kept him out until Week 4 this season.
It did, however, keep Samuel out of Wednesday’s practice.
Coach Kyle Shanahan made it sound like the 49ers are being cautious and still counting on him Sunday when they host 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. Samuel made all his team-high six receptions (73 yards) in the final 18 minutes after the 49ers fell behind 27-10, and his foot was injured when impacted by someone’s knee, Shanahan said. 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.
Asked 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 23-17. 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’ fourthquarter passing keyed a pair of field-goal 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.