The San Francisco 49ers are heading back to the Super Bowl, where they will play the same team they played the last time they were in it - the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are vastly different, including the routes they took to get there.
For the 49ers, they played the Detroit Lions, yes, you read that right, in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers and Lions do not play each other often, but when they clashed in this game, it got heated at times. Players were talking crap, and after the game, the winning side made sure to let everyone know.
One player who is known for his fair share of trash talk is C.J. Gardner-Johnson on the Detroit Lions, who are familiar with the 49ers from his days with the Philadelphia Eagles last season when they beat a hobbled 49ers team in the NFC Championship game. He talked trash then, and he talked trash in this one.
After the game, Deommodore Lenoir, the 49ers defensive back, thought it would be funny to remind everyone of what happened to Gardner-Johnson.
"Deebo stiff-armed the s*** out his a**… all that talking," he said on Instagram Live after the win.
“Deebo stiff armed the s*** out his a**… all that talking”
— The Warner House (@TheWarnerHouse_) January 29, 2024
Deommodore Lenoir weighs in on the CJ Gardner Johnson / Deebo Samuel trash talk pic.twitter.com/l04KlX44dQ
The Gardner-Johnson-49ers rivalry isn't new. Earlier this year, he was talking trash to Deebo Samuel, and the two went back and forth on Twitter. However, one of the things he told Samuel ended up getting proved wrong on Sunday.
"Don't be friendly when you see me," Gardner-Johnson said earlier this season on Deebo Samuel. "Because I can guard you. You can't run routes; you're a running back."
Lions S C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a message for 49ers WR Deebo Samuel:
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) October 17, 2023
“Don’t be friendly when you see me… you can’t run routes, you’re a running back, you’re a running back.” pic.twitter.com/5XwmXcZP2l
Samuel ended up running over Gardner-Johnson, and we haven't heard from the Lions safety since.
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