Forty-Whiners: Quez Watkins, Deebo Samuel trade jabs on Twitter

We are now two weeks removed from the NFC Championship Game and the 49ers (fans and players) are unable to grasp the reality of losing to Philadelphia.

After San Francisco lost both of their active quarterbacks to injuries, Kyle Shanahan’s hands were tied as his offense was reduced to short passes and handoffs for most of the game. While injuries are unfortunate, protecting your QB is part of the game, and the 49ers failed to do so against a dominant pass rush.

The Eagles went on to steamroll the Niners 31-7, clinching their second Super Bowl appearance in five years. Needless to say, San Fran isn’t taking the loss well. Since last Sunday, players across the roster — from WR Brandon Aiyuk to KICKER Robbie Gould — have discredited Philadelphia.

Below is a quick summary:

#49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk believes that the #Eagles defense will “get exposed” by the #Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

He claims that Philadelphia “Got extremely lucky” that the Niners couldn't expose them due to some "unfortunate circumstances." (@Graham_SFN) pic.twitter.com/YU6BPp3Cml
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 5, 2023

"If you make Jalen Hurts play quarterback, you're probably gonna have a pretty solid day on defense."@RobbieGould09 on which team has the edge in the #SuperBowl
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) February 9, 2023

“It feels like something got stolen from you… Hopefully they change that rule where you can carry a third quarterback.”

Christian McCaffrey on the hard loss to Eagles in the NFC Championship and being the emergency QB⁰⁰ 📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams | @CMC_22 pic.twitter.com/49RjNye32N
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 8, 2023

#Eagles AJ Brown and Devonta Smith seem to have a target on their backs#49ers DB Jimmie Ward: “When I catch Devonta Smith and AJ Brown, when I move back to safety. Somebody gotta pay. Hopefully both of them gotta pay.”
pic.twitter.com/YcUThVRyr2
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 10, 2023

A lot of bitterness going around in that locker room, and it starts at the top. Kyle Shanahan’s refusal to take accountability has enabled his players to make excuses while absolving his poor coaching scheme that got four quarterbacks injured this year.

The latest to fire shots at the Eagles was WR Deebo Samuel, who claims that the NFC Championship Game “wouldn’t have been close” if San Francisco had a third quarterback:

"I don't think it would have been close."

Deebo Samuel tells @AdamSchein the #Niners would have beaten the #Eagles by double digits if Brock Purdy didn't get hurt.

Listen ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Cr4bmTAt3P
— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) February 9, 2023

Bold claims from a team who tried to stop Haason Reddick with reserve tight end Tyler Kroft. To be frank, it didn’t matter how many active quarterbacks the 49ers had; they all would’ve been knocked out due to dreadful pass protection.

Eagles’ players have blocked out the noise in preparation for the Super Bowl, but WR Quez Watkins did put out a subtle jab Friday on Twitter:

CJ Gardner-Johnson, being the outspoken person that he is, also chimed in on the matter. The tweet has since been deleted, but as we all know, screenshots live forever.

Watkins and CJ are correct; the 49ers need to accept the loss, take their L and try again next year. The sense of entitlement is a bad look for the players and the entire organization. As for Philadelphia, they’ll face the two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs tomorrow in Super Bowl LVII.