George Kittle's Breakout Season can be Immortalized in the Playoffs
There isn’t a non-quarterback in the NFL with as much “pick your poison” capability as San Francisco tight end George Kittle. In 14 games, Kittle earned the tight end spot on the AP All-Pro First-Team with his 1,053 receiving yards, five touchdowns and elite run-blocking.
He can block into nonexistence, like he did to Atlanta safety Ricardo Allen or he can accelerate past a defensive back for a touchdown, like he did on Sunday Night Football against the Packers.
Although the offense wasn’t bad without Kittle (744 total yards in two games) it was one-dimensional. The biggest consequence of his absence wasn’t the lack of a top receiver (rookie Deebo Samuel averaged eight catches and 123 yards during Kittle’s two-game absence), it was that it limited the variety of quality plays by the offense.
Kittle was injured Halloween night at Arizona, but he still put in a very strong performance (six catches on eight targets, 79 yards and a touchdown) against a very good safety, Budda Baker.
Kittle came back with a bang in a highly-anticipated Sunday Night Football matchup with the Green Bay Packers. He caught all six targets, including a 61-yard touchdown, for 129 yards. Three weeks later, Kittle worked Atlanta’s defense for 13 catches on 17 targets and 134 yards, all season-highs.
Yes, Kittle has the capability to absolutely torch a defense, like he did against Green Bay and Atlanta. What he does better than any other tight end in the NFL, however, is find ways to make major impacts when he doesn’t have the ball.
In Kittle’s two-game absence, the offense was still pretty good, but there were very noticeable weaknesses. They couldn’t run the ball. Not only were the 49ers without their top receiving target, they were without their best lead-blocker as they recorded their two worst rushing performances of the season (87 and 34 yards).
Since his return, the 49ers have rushed for over 100 yards in all six games. With Kittle as lead-blocker, running back Raheem Mostert has revived the briefly ineffective ground-game.
Even his “worst” statistical game, two-catches for 17 yards against Baltimore, was still very strong due to his incredible blocking. With Kittle leading the way, the 49ers rushed for 174 yards, the second most the Ravens allowed all season.
Another distinct vulnerability in the offense was the lack of a reliable target. In the week 10 loss to Seattle, Kittle was sorely missed. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo needed his go-to guy, but instead had to rely on a mix of inexperienced receivers as Emmanuel Sanders was also injured. Kendrick Bourne and Samuel played well, but drops from the entire unit fueled the team’s first loss of the season.
That flaw was obliterated when Kittle broke loose on a vital fourth-and-2 at New Orleans for a 39-yard eventual game-winning catch.
Despite his next game being his playoff debut, don’t expect the impassioned Kittle to shy away from the spotlight. “I'm going to do what I've been doing for the last 16 games - 14." Said Kittle. "I'm just going to play football and have fun doing it. I feel like if you change things up, it's probably not for the best. Our team has been doing that. Nothing has really changed this whole week. Intensity has been up. I'm just going to go play football.”
In his last eight prime-time games, Kittle totaled 47 catches, 664 yards and five touchdowns. Despite the game not being played in prime-time, the playoff matchup with Minnesota is Kittle’s biggest test. If Kittle can do what he’s done all season, he can cement his place in 49er lore.
