The San Francisco 49ers locker room was disappointed following a 26-15 defeat to the Houston Texans, but the team lives by a strict 24-hour rule. Any frustration is short-lived, giving the squad time to regroup and focus on their next challenge—preparing for the New York Giants in Week 9.
"The locker room yesterday, it was disappointed, but excited just to go to the next game," tight end George Kittle said Tuesday on Bay Area radio station KNBR. "I think the whole team knows that we didn't play very well. You can watch the game, you can listen to all the cutups from the press conferences, no one's really happy with anybody's performance."
Kittle added, "We were a very clunky offense, and we put our defense out there the entire game, and it's hard to expect a win with a young defense, and your offense isn't putting up any points."
The 49ers' offense takes much of the responsibility for Sunday's loss, but the players in the locker room remain confident in their ability to accomplish their goals. Kittle noted that there's no need for added urgency—the 49ers already approach each week with the mentality that their backs are against the wall.
"The hungry dog, the desperate dog, plays the fastest, the hardest, and wants to win the most," Kittle explained. "So hopefully, that will be our overall team mindset moving forward, and get a bunch of hungry dogs out there on offense, and hopefully, just start throwing up a bunch of points."
Kittle is also optimistic about the return of key offensive players, including quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, who may be crucial down the stretch.
Purdy has appeared in only two games this season due to a toe injury, Pearsall remains sidelined with a knee issue, and Aiyuk continues his recovery from ACL and MCL injuries suffered last year.
"Anytime you can add a Ricky Pearsall, who was having a great start to his season, just cooking dudes left and right, which was really fun to watch," Kittle said. "And then, any time you can add Brandon Aiyuk, like I said on Sunday, we paid him $30 million for a reason. He's one of the only receivers that can run every single route in the route tree and also can block his tail off, and be incredibly physical, and it allows our run game to really get to the second level. It allows [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] to get up on those safeties."
Kittle also stressed the importance of getting Purdy back under center.
"And then, I could talk about Brock Purdy all day. I'm pretty good at that," Kittle commented. "But anytime you can get your face of the franchise and the guy who's won a lot of games for you back in the saddle, it just instills confidence all over the team."
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