Deebo Samuel has had a number of memorable performances against the Los Angeles Rams over the course of his 49ers career. After an unsuccessful year away with the Washington Commanders in which he did not face the Rams, he will renew acquaintances with them as the Niners face their division rivals in Melbourne.
Samuel will naturally be determined to mark the historic occasion of the first regular-season game in Australia by once again proving a thorn in the Rams’ side.
And there is extra incentive for Samuel to do so as he stands close to writing his name into the 49ers’ history books with a strong Week 1 showing.
Samuel will enter the game with 5,935 scrimmage yards to his name for the 49ers. He needs 65 yards to become the 12th player to reach 6,000 for San Francisco.
He would become just the fourth wide receiver to achieve that feat, following in the footsteps of Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Dwight Clark and Gene Washington.
With Mike Evans, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey also likely to command targets, Samuel will not be the focal point of the 49er attack, so there is a chance he does not receive the kind of workload to hit that number.
Regardless of how he performs in Week 1, Samuel — provided he avoids injury — will get to the 6,000 mark this year.
But it would be extra sweet for Samuel to achieve the feat against the 49ers’ NFC West foes, and a strong performance from him would likely mean a very good night for the San Francisco offense.
San Francisco will take a win over Los Angeles in any fashion, but there would be no better way to start the season than with a vintage Samuel performance against the Rams, which would give the 49ers reason to be even more confident about their star-studded offense for the rest of the campaign.
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* [San Francisco 49ers History](/san-francisco-49ers-history)
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