The Los Angeles Rams seemed to have turned an innocent comment made recently by San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle into some motivation this week, but Kittle made sure he got the last laugh after the 49ers' 27-24 overtime win over the Rams on Sunday.
Kittle was speaking to reporters on Thursday about the physicality of the 49ers' offense and ended his comments by saying, "It's going to definitely show up this Sunday about who's the more physical team. It's going to be kind of a body bag game, is my opinion." He revealed in his media session after Sunday's game that the Rams might have taken exception to those comments, even though he didn't make the comment to target the Rams in particular. But then Kittle used that comment to take a little shot at the Rams that perhaps they'll come back to for some motivation in the future.
The subject came up when Kittle was asked if he saw Rams head coach Sean McVay celebrating on the field with his team after they went up 17-0 over the 49ers in the second quarter ("Nice. Good for him. Got his cardio in," Kittle said of McVay). Kittle then volunteered a tale to the media about how the Rams reacted to his "body bag" comment, followed with a quick taunt towards the Rams.
"Actually my favorite thing was -- I'll just give you guys this because it was fun -- apparently I used a body bag quote that they used in their locker room this entire week," Kittle said. "And I was saying it was for both sides of the ball. You know -- whoever it is, Rams or Niners, someone's leaving in a body bag. We go down 17 to zero and I had five guys chirping me in the ear, 'Hey you guys are putting you in a body bag, Kittle.' And I was like, 'A lot of time up on that clock boys.'
"Hopefully, I can see them again, because that was a fun body bag game. Ha!"
Watch below (via Tracy Sandler/Fan Girl Sports Network):
Watch this whole thing #49ers fans. You're welcome pic.twitter.com/FaVEL8hlCG
— Tracy Sandler (@49ersfangirl) January 10, 2022
The win was the sixth in a row for the 49ers over the Rams and gave them a spot in the Wild Card round of the NFC Playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys next week. The Rams clinched the NFC West on Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals fell to the Seattle Seahawks, so there's a chance the 49ers and Rams could face off again before the end of the postseason. But if not, Sunday's game should pump plenty of juice into this rivalry that will last well into next year.
And it turns out Kittle wasn't the only one who thought Sunday's game was going to be a "body bag game." 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did as well, according to wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
"Me and Jimmy's on the sidelines before the game started; he's like, 'Deebo, this is going to be a body bag game,'" Samuel said Sunday. "Me, I was like, 'Nah.' Then come the fourth quarter, Jimmy's like, 'Well, do you believe me now that this is going to be a body bag game?' I was like, 'Yeah, because I'm hurting right now.'"
