Judging overreactions off NFL divisional round playoff games - ESPN

We have just about made it to the end. Twenty weeks of overreactions have led us to the NFL playoffs' conference championships, where our Super Bowl LVIII participants will be determined.

At this point in the overreactions season, we start to feel a little melancholy. There really isn't much overreacting left. At this point, drawing sweeping conclusions about the teams feels redundant. The game results are determining what these teams truly are and can be — they don't need our help anymore. But it has been a fun weekly exercise, so of course we'll keep it going as long as we can. There are suddenly only four games left in the NFL season, and after Chiefs-Bills, just three. It is not an overreaction to say we will miss it.

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San Francisco's do-it-all wideout left Saturday night's game against Green Bay in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and spent the second half on the sideline in street clothes. The Niners were able to eke out a comeback victory over the Packers without him, but generally when they've played without him this season, it hasn't gone well. The Niners' three-game October losing streak, sandwiched between winning streaks of five and six games, coincided with a three-game injury absence for Samuel (not to mention left tackle Trent Williams).

This team is obviously loaded with offensive playmakers and certainly can win without Samuel. But the 49ers are not the same without him — according to ESPN Stats & Information, they averaged 7.1 yards per play with Samuel on the field during the regular season, but 5.7 without him. And the