The San Francisco 49ers haven't had a lot of luck at CenturyLink Field as of late. In fact, the last time the Niners won there was in December of 2011.
The 49ers will look to buck that trend on Sunday in Week 17 when they visit the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC West "winner take all" bout on Sunday Night Football to close out the regular season. And despite San Francisco's recent run of bad fortunes at the Seahawks' home venue, tight end George Kittle actually enjoys playing there.
"We're not going to focus on the past or anything like that," Kittle said, via NBC Bay Area's Matt Maiocco. "One week week at a time. And we're just looking forward to playing there."
Kittle was out with knee and ankle injuries the last time these two teams played -- a Week 10 Monday Night Football bout at Levi's Stadium, in which the Seahawks won in overtime 27-24. Over four career games against Seattle, Kittle has 12 catches for 148 yards with zero touchdowns, so one figures the Niners will want to get Kittle's stats at CenturyLink Field a bit higher.
Visiting teams always have to contend with the crowd noise at CenturyLink Field, too. Previously, the home crowd in Seattle once set the Guinness Book of World Records record for loudest NFL venue, eventually losing that accolade to the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium fans in 2014.
Still, the noise is something Kittle and the 49ers offense will have to absorb.
"It's definitely one of my favorite stadiums to play in, because the crowd is such a factor," Kittle continued. "It's so much fun. They're involved in the whole game, and I'm looking forward that."
The 49ers and Seahawks kick off on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 8:20 p.m.
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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