Those looking for a bright spot for the San Francisco 49ers in their 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night will be able to find it in the performance of tight end George Kittle, who had a monster showing after missing two games due to a knee injury he sustained in a Week 1 loss against the Arizona Cardinals.
Kittle put up 15 catches on 15 targets for 183 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles while also receiving one carry for eight yards. It was a heavy workload after sitting out for two weeks, but he was able to handle it just fine and said he felt healthy afterwards.
"Body feels great," Kittle told reporters after the game. "Getting tackled 15 times is a lot, but that's what I'm built for. It felt great to be back out there with the guys. Unfortunately we just didn't get it done, so that's not fun."
We've missed this 😍@gkittle46
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 5, 2020
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While Kittle was at his best catching the ball, he came away feeling like there was more the team could have done in terms of run blocking. The 49ers put up 116 total yards on the ground against the Eagles but didn't have the type of consistency in the run game they'd like to see.
"I think overall in the run game, we just weren't playing at our level I expect us to play at," Kittle said. "I know that Trent and Mike (offensive tackles Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey) both expect to play at a very high level in the run game. We just have to be better. If we aren't better, that's what it's going to look like. I think we're the best running team in the world. We proved that last year and we've got to prove it again this year. We've just got to get back to work and figure out what went wrong and watch the film. I haven't seen it yet, but we have two amazing tackles and I think we have some really damn good tight ends, and we can run the ball, so we've just got to get back to that."
Kittle now has 19 catches for 227 yards and one touchdown on the season, but unfortunately, the 49ers have come up short in each of the two games he's been on the field. They were able to rebound for two wins after their loss to the Cardinals, and now they'll have to do the same next Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
"We're professionals and I just expect our team to flush it," Kittle said. "You get 24 hours and you flush it. If guys linger on that, it's a problem."