George Kittle has played in a Super Bowl. He knows what a championship-caliber team feels like. The tight end confidently asserts that the 2023 San Francisco 49ers fit that description.
"We're winning a lot of football games," Kittle told Rich Eisen on Monday, a day after clinching the NFC West title. "We're currently the one seed. Our quarterback has played at an incredibly high level that you haven't seen for a long time. And all of our skill positions are close to 1,000 yards receiving or plus 1,000 yards rushing. And our defense is our defense.
"And so, yes, I feel like I'm on a very talented team that has every opportunity to continue to win from here on out."
Regarding the incredible play from his quarterback, Kittle has heard the narrative surrounding Brock Purdy. Many still want to label the second-year player as a game manager, attempting to diminish his accomplishments this season.
"There's no one that manages the game quite like him," Kittle said with a smile on his face. "Isn't it wild? Everyone just looks for, Hey, what can I say today that people are going to argue with? And the one thing about 49ers fans is they like to argue with people who talk crap about any of their players, about their franchise."
Purdy is on track to set a franchise record for passing yards. His 29 touchdowns, 9.9 yards per attempt, 14.2 yards per catch, and 119.0 passer rating all lead the NFL.
"Brock's playing at an incredibly elite, high level consistently, week in and week out, 130 passer ratings, perfect passer ratings, doing everything that you're supposed to do as a quarterback," Kittle continued. "But just because he has good skill positions around him and a solid head coach and a pretty good defense, it's like, Oh, he doesn't get the credit for it because everyone's doing all the work for him. Well, we can't do any of that work unless he's the guy throwing the ball."
When asked to elaborate on what Purdy brings to the football field, traits that his critics aren't considering, Kittle responded, "Well, sure, you got weapons all over the field. It's something that coach [Kyle] Shanahan and [GM] John Lynch have done a good job of. But we've had these weapons. We've had them for a while. We haven't won, unfortunately.
"And Brock Purdy comes in, and last year, he wins 12 straight, or our team won 12 straight. He came in as a starter and won. And then this year, besides [having] a little hiccup there in the middle [where] we lost three straight, which you never want to do, but he's been playing at an incredibly high level."
Kittle encourages people to look at Purdy's film rather than just the highlights. He believes his quarterback is doing something that so many have struggled to accomplish this season—play consistently good football.
"He's playing the quarterback position at an incredibly high level," Kittle said. "The way he drops back, his footwork, his reads, using his eyes to throw people off, the way that he gets the ball to his guys in space. I mean, he's playing at such a high level right now, and the consistency of it, too. It's hard to go out there and play football consistently, 24/7."
Kittle brings up one of the all-time greats, noting that Peyton Manning's accolades aren't tainted by the numerous weapons he had around him. Purdy's accomplishments shouldn't be diminished either.
