if san francisco 49ers are trying to reach their second Super Bowl in five seasons, but they may have to do it without one of their best offensive weapons.
Standout wide receiver Deebo Samuel injured his left shoulder in Saturday night's divisional round game against the Tigers. green bay packers. Although Samuel did not return to action and subsequent tests did not reveal a fracture in his left shoulder (he was sidelined with the injury earlier this season), head coach Kyle Shanahan said Samuel remains He is said to be battling great pain.
Additionally, Shanahan said Samuel did not practice Wednesday and his status Sunday is “unknown.”
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel did not practice today and his availability for Sunday's NFC Championship Game remains uncertain, according to Kyle Shanahan.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 24, 2024
Samuel's potential absence will be a major storyline heading into the NFC Championship Game. He fractured his left shoulder earlier this season, shortly after the start of the Week 6 game against San Francisco in San Francisco. cleveland browns. His injury caused him to miss the rest of the game, and the 49ers lost.
He was out for the next two weeks, and San Francisco lost both games.
Next are the numbers. Data shows that “on/off” reporting is not a reliable indicator; Sports information solution San Francisco's offense becomes a much more efficient machine when Samuel is on the field. In terms of expected points added, the 49ers average EPA per offensive play when Samuel is on the field is his 0.18, but this number drops to his 0.01 when he is off the field.
Their passing game averages 0.26 EPA per play when Samuel is on the field, but drops to 0.06 when he's off the field. The same is true for San Francisco's running game, averaging 0.09 EPA when on the field and -0.05 when off the field.
Sure, there may be some noise, but given the loss and the numbers, the 49ers want to have him on the field on Sunday.
