Stephen A. Smith States An Obvious Truth About Football: Losing One Of Your Best Players Affects Your Performance

Stop the presses everyone. Stephen A. Smith just uncovered the best-kept secret in football.

During today’s panel of “First Take,” the crew hosted a discussion about the NFL Divisional Round games from this weekend. At one point, the conversation shifted to what Smith, Dan Orlovsky, and Shannon Sharpe thought about the performance from the San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy. 

San Francisco won their game against the Green Bay Packers 24-21 thanks in large part to Purdy engineering a late touchdown drive to give them the lead. However, Smith remained concerned about the 49ers in large part because of wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s game-ending injury, and how Purdy and the offense performed after that.

“Notice how the struggles became a bit more conspicuous the minute Deebo came out?,” Smith said. “If you need conditions to be ideal for you to excel, that worries me.”

For those of you who don’t know, Samuel plays a huge role in that San Francisco offense. He didn’t lead the team in receptions (he was fourth on the team with 60), but he’s nonetheless a dangerous and reliable downfield threat. Furthermore, he adds versatility in the run game and is one of the most influential leaders on that team.

It’s almost like Smith noticed that if a pivotal player can't continue in a game, that team suffers a few drawbacks.

Wow, what a stroke of insight.

Purdy And The Offense Succeeded Even Without Samuel

Yes, Purdy and San Francisco took some time adjusting to life without Samuel against the Packers. But that should be expected! Even so, the quarterback and offense figured out a way to get a win.

Mind you, they also did it in conditions that weren’t “ideal.” Rain poured down from the night sky. The 49ers faced a deficit in crunch time. And all the pressure of not choking away a No. 1 playoff ranking to a No. 7 seed crept into the minds.

Purdy (13) and the 49ers missed Samuel (19), but they still found a way to win against Green Bay. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Even so, San Francisco took care of business, a point Sharpe noted in the debate.

“The way you measure an offense or a defense…when you absolutely have to have it, can you go get it?” Sharpe said. 

The 49ers got it done, without one of their bonafide leaders - who might come back next week. Purdy also quieted some of the doubters who said he’s only a game manager and can’t perform well in the clutch. Furthermore, he reversed a trend from earlier this year in which he lost three straight games while Samuel was out with another shoulder injury, so that's progress as well.

Smith Should Know Losing A Top Target Means An Offense Won't Perform The Same

The 49ers quarterback isn’t the only guy who saw a bit of a production drop off in a game because he missed a key receiver this season.

Let’s go all the way back to Week 1, when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Detroit Lions in Arrowhead. Travis Kelce sat that game out because of a knee injury. We all know that he’s the go-to guy for Patrick Mahomes in that offense, so that was a big loss.

With Kelce out, Mahomes predictably struggled. He did throw two touchdowns, but only completed 21 of 39 passes for a subpar 226 yards. The Chiefs lost that game 21-20, but I suspect they would have won with a healthy Kelce.

Mahomes (15) didn't perform well in Week 1 without Kelce (87). (Photo by Ralf Ibing - firo sportphoto/Getty Images)

You could also look at Lamar Jackson’s performance in Week 12 against the Chargers. Sure, they won 20-10. But Jackson went 18-32 for a paltry 177 yards and a touchdown in his first game after reliable tight end Mark Andrews got injured.

This is a smaller sample size, and both Mahomes and Jackson corrected their respective courses. But it still shows a trend. Even if you're in the league's elite, your performance as a quarterback in the passing game will drop off noticeably without one of your top targets available.

Of course, every NFL fan knows this to be the case.

But leave it to Smith to make it seem like an obvious fact is a profound truth.