George Kittle loves one thing more than anything else in football, and the 49ers tight end achieved the feat twice Thursday night in his big game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
“There’s nothing like being wide open in football, because that doesn’t happen a lot,” Kittle told reporters after San Francisco’s 21-13 win that clinched the NFC West title.
Kittle scored two of the 49ers’ three touchdowns on the night thanks to some ingenuity from coach Kyle Shanahan and some perfect passes from rookie quarterback Brock Purdy. But Kittle’s separation from Seahawks defensemen over the two games might have been the most impressive.
The 49ers’ first touchdown of the game featured what Shanahan called “Hollywood” play, and the 28-yard first-quarter score couldn’t have been more perfectly executed by everyone involved.
Kittle’s first thought when he heard the call in Hollywood on Thursday?
“Touchdown, every time,” Kittle said. “…Every time Kyle composes something that you know you’re going to get the ball, try to make it exist. So you have to say ‘landing’, just visualize it.
“It was actually perfect.”
Purdy’s false left, then false right, forced the entire Seattle backfield out of the middle, leaving Kittle — who was pretending to be just a blocker on the play — wide open for the touchdown.
Shanahan applauded Kittle’s Oscar-worthy performance after the game, and the coach noted a change the 49ers made by running the game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. Rather than Kittle faking a cut block on the front, tight end remained this time.
“The play is called ‘Hollywood’ because Kittle is supposed to do a good job as an actor,” Shanahan said. “We’ve done it in the past where he drops so they really forget about him. Sometimes I think it’s too obvious when it drops. …
“He did a good job of acting without falling down, and we had the right look.”
On his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter, Kittle was wide open again and caught a 54-yard pass from Purdy home.
And for the second time, her separation was incredible.
Kittle’s two-point game was the third of his career with two or more touchdowns, including two this season.
His big night also landed him in the 49ers record books, scoring the most games with two 25-yard or more touchdowns in a season by a San Francisco player since wide receiver Terrell Owens had a pair in 2001. .
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And there’s more.
Kittle’s 54-yard touchdown was also the longest by a tight end in the NFL this season, and his 5,082 receiving yards this season made him the 49ers’ ninth player and third tight end in franchise history. the franchise to record 5,000 or more receiving yards in his career.
The tight end is truly a special player with and without the ball in his hands, and according to Next Gen Stats, his most anticipated 714 yards after catch since 2018 trails only one other NFL player – his 49ers teammate Deebo Samuel (773).
Spend a night – and a career – wide open Kittle.
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