Deebo Samuel Explains Altercation With 49ers Teammates: ‘Got Out Of Character A Little Bit’

Deebo Samuel is brushing off Sunday's conflict with his special teams teammates.

The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver lost his cool on his team's sideline after kicker Jake Moody missed his third field goal attempt (3-of-6) of the day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was obviously a rough day for Moody, as his three misses resulted in a tight game between the two teams. 

But it was his miss with three minutes left in the fourth quarter that got Samuel riled up.

Samuel was bickering with Niners' long snapper Taybor Pepper on the sidelines when Samuel excalated the situation by reaching out to grab Pepper's neck. The wideout knocked his long snapper's helmet and made contact with Moody's helmet on the follow-through. Pepper followed Samuel up the sideline after the incident and continued to chirp.

Moody went on to hit a 44-yard field goal as time expired to win the game for San Francisco, 23-20.

Deebo Samuel: ‘We Move Past It’

After the game, Pepper explained the context around the situation.

"He was telling him to lock in," Pepper said. "We know what our job is, and we got us. It’s hard being a specialist. Sometimes, it’s feast or famine. As a young, developing specialist like Jake is, the best mental exercise you can have is missing three straight and having to step up and make an almost 50-yard game-winner. So I’m super proud of Jake."

Moody chalked up the heated interaction to an emotional game.

"Yeah, you know, it’s an emotional game," Moody said. "Stuff like that happens all the time. You just move past it and move on. That’s all that matters. There doesn’t need to be (an apology). It happens, I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day. That’s all I’m focused on. I’m not worried about anything like that."

And Samuel is just ready to pretend it didn't happen.

"Just frustrated in the heat of battle," Samuel said. "Real close game, and I kind of got out of character a little bit. I’ll talk to Moody, and we’ll get past it. I think he had a little dog in him, a little motivation to make the field goal. 

"When I was talking to him at first, I wasn’t saying nothing crazy to him. I was just frustrated at that time. But he went out there and won the game of course. He wasn’t bothered by it, so we move past it."

Since the 49ers won the game, this incident will probably get brushed under the rug. But imagine if the long snapper swung on a wide receiver for dropping a critical, would-be touchdown pass. Something tells me the team wouldn't just "move past it."