As the San Francisco 49ers recover from their Super Bowl loss, Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald is rubbing it in. The 49ers had the NFC West bragging rights after their division title, but Donald has something most of the organization does not.
A ring. In a photo posted with no caption, the Rams defensive tackle shared a photo of him flexing his ring from the 2022 Super Bowl.
Aaron Donald letting the Niners know what they're missing (via aarondonald99/IG) pic.twitter.com/hxqYGaM3XV
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) February 12, 2024
As the saying goes: when it rains, it pours. And for San Francisco right now, the weather forecast is doom and gloom. Opportunities to win a Super Bowl come few and far between, and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has now failed to win the Lombardi Trophy despite having two tries.
While the Rams probably shouldn’t be the ones talking (their only win against the 49ers over the past two seasons was in a game where neither side played their starters,) it’s hard to deny the ring on Donald’s finger.
That being said, the 2024 season will be here before fans realize, and that means San Francisco can try and get “revenge” on Donald or any other NFL team talking trash.
Fletcher Cox Takes Aim at Deebo Samuel
While Donald didn’t use words to get his message across, Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox didn’t hold back with his call-out. After the 2024 Super Bowl, Cox posted on Instagram to address 49ers WR Deebo Samuel.
“Keep the Eagles out cho mouth Boe,” Cox wrote on February 11. “I still got some you ain’t got. Ya!! I be holding this one in son!!!!!”
His comments are referencing the multiple jabs that Samuel has traded with Eagles players. He openly admitted that his most hated team going into 2023 was Philadelphia, and his back-and-forth with Eagles CB James Bradberry was well documented.
While trash talk is entertaining, part of that approach means paying up when the bill comes due. Right now, the 49ers and Samuel are the ones paying as they move on from Las Vegas without a Lombardi Trophy.
Deebo, Other 49ers Stars Kept Under Wraps
On the 49ers’ side, the story of the game was WR Jauan Jennings being the “secret weapon.” He threw for a touchdown pass, caught another pass for a score, and was the surprise hero of the game.
But while Jennings had an impressive night, the majority of the 49ers’ best weapons were kept quiet. Deebo, for example, had 41 total yards on six total touches. Tight end George Kittle was a non-factor, catching just two of his four targets for just four yards.
Even Brandon Aiyuk was relatively quiet, catching three catches for 49 yards. This was partially due to the 49ers spreading the ball around, as QB Brock Purdy connected with 8 different receivers.
Unsurprisingly, RB Christian McCaffrey had another memorable tonight. The veteran RB totaled 80 rushing yards, caught 8 passes for 80 receiving yards and scored the first touchdown of the night.
All of San Francisco will walk away with some form of regret or desire to change things. But the fact that three of the team’s top weapons (Aiyuk, Samuel, Kittle) put up just 94 total yards is something that will be hard to get over.
