Patrick Mahomes made a bold statement overseas Sunday after his Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins 21-14 in Germany. “I think it’s the best defense in the NFL,” Mahomes said of the Chiefs’ defense. “If we have a defense like that, we’re going to get this offense figured out, I promise you that. We’re going to be a hard team to beat.”
49ers receiver Deebo Samuel weighed in on those comments Tuesday.
“Suit yourself, man,” Samuel said to host Kay Adams. “I think everybody is going to think they’ve got the best offense in the league, best defense in the league. Why wouldn’t you? I’m going to say the same thing. I’m going to say we have the best offense in the league and the best defense in the league.”
During the team’s bye week, the 49ers’ defense added defensive end Chase Young in a trade with the Washington Commanders. Young should help the 49ers’ underperforming defensive line, which has only 18 sacks in eight games, ranking them 24th in the league.
“It should be very interesting adding this young fellow to the team who is playing at a high level,” Samuel said. “He’s pretty healthy. We’re going to see what we got.”
San Francisco’s roster is deep, particularly on defense. Young was previously drafted second overall. Nick Bosa is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are perhaps the league’s finest one-two linebacker combination.
The roster’s talent is why the confidence of Samuel and the 49ers hasn’t decreased over the team’s current three-game losing streak.
“I don’t think [the confidence] went down,” Samuel told Adams. “At the end of the day, we know what we’re capable of. We started off hot and hit little bumps in the road. That’s going to happen. You’re not going to win them all. You’ve just got to take it step-by-step and prepare the way that we’ve been preparing.
“A big emphasis on takeaways and staying on the field and sustaining drives – just getting back to what we’re doing.”