‘I’m Ticked Off!’ Cowboys’ Jayron Kearse On 49ers George Kittle Playoff Matchup
FRISCO - George Kittle is a household name and a perennial Pro Bowler.
Jayron Kearse … well, isn’t.
Sunday could, if the Dallas Cowboys have their way, change all of that.
"I'm ready for the task, but he has to go against me, too," said Kearse, a pivotal Dallas defender in this weekend’s NFL playoff game. "I kind of get ticked off when I'm being asked 'Kittle this, Kittle that.'
“He has to play me, too!”
There is no denying Kittle as an unusual weapon. This year, he caught 71 balls for 910 yards and six TDs. At 6-4, 250, he combines tight end size with wideout skills.
"Kittle's a great tight end – one of the best tight ends in the league, if not the best," Kearse said respectfully. "He does a lot of things in the pass game and the run game which is unique to a lot of tight ends, because you've (usually) got guys (who are) either really good at run-blocking or really good pass-catchers."
But the Cowboys - who aren’t really hiding the plan to feature Kearse, fresh out of COVID-19 protocol and his hamstring feeling newly healthy, as a Kittle cover guy - think Kearse is unique as well.
Kearse, 27, arrived in Dallas last offseason with little fanfare (and with just a one-year, $1.1 million vet’s-minimum contract). He’s been a Vikings and Lions journeyman who helped on special teams. But coordinator Dan Quinn has made him a starting safety who at 6-4 is long and big, playing in the box, harassing ball-carriers and yes, blanketing tight ends.
Kittle, Kearse said, “has to play me, too. So we'll see how that shakes out."
The winner advances in the playoffs … and, probably, ticks off the loser.
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