San Francisco 49ers fans absolutely love stud tight end George Kittle. Even non-49ers faithful can appreciate his blend of pass-catching, blocking, and quirky personality. That is, unless it’s the Super Bowl and that latter usually-amiable attribute gets in the way of making a critical play.
When 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey fumbled the ball away on San Francisco’s opening drive of Super Bowl LVIII, it was a painful twist. They’d already marched into Chiefs territory. Scoring right away could’ve set a totally different tone for how the Big Game played out. Adding insult to injury, from the looks of it, Kittle could’ve easily beaten Kansas City defensive end George Karlaftis to the loose ball had he not been busy taunting him:
This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen https://t.co/ZrwVpJqDQT pic.twitter.com/aiJHUlAOuu
— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) February 15, 2024
Kittle says, “Hi George!” after soundly blocking him, only to watch Karlaftis slip past him and dive on the fumble to give the Chiefs possession. OOF…
Now you could say that Kittle was walling off Karlaftis, thought the play was over, couldn’t hear what he assumed was a blown whistle and let up for only a split second. Nevertheless, a lot of people are giving it to Kittle for not finishing the play to the absolute best of his ability.
Might want to stop being a clown while George stays alert to recover the fumble.
— Tony Gunk (@jmoore37) February 15, 2024
“hey george” while your rb is fumbling the ball is HILARIOUS
— aubkc27 (a tortured poet) (@aubs_tv) February 16, 2024
Bro was too busy trying to be quirky. Laporta would never.
— BIG JUNTAO (@bigjuntao) February 16, 2024
@gkittle46 is my favorite player in the @NFL but this is a bad look. It took the @49ers years to get back to the Super Bowl, I thought he would be more focused than this. So many opportunities for the #49ers to put the Game away and they blew it #GoNiners #GeorgeKittle #IGYB 🤦🏽♂️
— kareemslick (@kareemslick) February 16, 2024
Lol not a good look for Kittle. Great player but if he wasn’t messing with him and was looking at the ball he may have recovered that. Wait till the play is done
— John (@johnnyj848) February 16, 2024
I’d be so pissed as a 49ers fan. Having an unserious player on my team causing a SB loss. 49ers deserve a better tight end.
— Tom (@TariEasxn) February 16, 2024
I'lL bE bAcK hErE wItH a VeNgEaNcE! 😂
— Mikey Miss Blocked Me (@rock082082) February 16, 2024
@gkittle46 why man just say hi when you hear the whistle please
— pay brandon aiyuk (@pug1x) February 16, 2024
Beyond this alleged Kittle blunder, it seemed like every little thing didn’t break the 49ers’ way. Not to discredit what Patrick Mahomes did, but Kyle Shanahan clearly didn’t have a firm grasp on the playoff overtime rules. taking the ball first in OT might’ve cost San Francisco the Super Bowl. Many would argue it definitely did.
Kittle had over 1,000 yards receiving in the regular season, yet managed only two catches for four yards on three targets in Super Bowl LVIII. You have to credit Chris Jones, L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, and the Chiefs’ fantastic defense for playing such sound football. You’d just hope for more from such a dynamic pass-catcher like Kittle if you’re the Niners. His skill set should’ve created more matchup problems for Kansas City. It’s a bit surprising Brock Purdy didn’t look Kittle’s way more often, and meanwhile, only connected with Deebo Samuel for three completions on 11 targets.
What a bummer for McCaffrey in the first place, though. He’d lost only four fumbles on 1,297 regular-season carries. Coughing it up like that sucks — even more so when one of your toughest teammates might’ve had a better shot to pounce on it if he was more locked in. CMC still had 160 total yards, with 80 rushing and receiving apiece. Can’t exactly blame him for the loss.
Since I like Kittle a good deal and want to give him the benefit of the doubt, here’s some fodder for that side of the fence, including a would-be catch that would’ve given his underwhelming numbers a significant boost.
This isn’t George Kittle’s fault that Karlaftis recovered the fumble…
George has his guy 3 yards behind the los and is shadowing him until Karlaftis notices the ball on the ground. If people didn’t hear Kittle say “Hey George” they wouldn’t be upset with him
What’s crazy is… pic.twitter.com/h7ayig7cug
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) February 16, 2024
Kyle Shanahan to the official after George Kittle’s catch was called back:
“Hey, I saw the hold, but that’s what they do every time. They hold, they tug our guy til Pat leaves & then they let go. That’s what our guy did, make sure they call it both ways.”
That shit fell on deaf… pic.twitter.com/qcqIUiLjpt
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) February 15, 2024
