The San Francisco 49ers’ offense got off to a slow start on Saturday night as they hosted the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. One player who also wasn’t clicking on all cylinders was tight end George Kittle.
What’s Happening With 49ers TE George Kittle?
Before the opening kickoff, the 49ers looked ready to rock and roll on the field. Quarterback Brock Purdy was amped up coming onto the field.
Purdy has tried to keep the same energy during the first half, despite the offensive woes of the 49ers.
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The Seahawks were up 10-3 at halftime after a Zach Charbonnet touchdown and a Jason Myers field goal. 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro got his team on the board with a 48-yard field goal late in the second quarter.
What has Kittle done? Well, he’s been targeted three times, for three receptions and five yards. The 49ers need to pick up the pace on offense before Sam Darnold and the Seattle offense figure things out. At this point, there’s no indication that Kittle is injured, either. So, things have to start getting a whole lot better pretty quickly.
According to the PFSN NFL TE Impact Metric, Kittle has an impact score of 88.5 and grades out to a B-. Entering Saturday night’s showdown with the Seahawks, Kittle had 52 catches for 599 yards and seven touchdown receptions.
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He’s been targeted 62 times so far this season, so he’s doing a good job of making catches when Purdy or backup quarterback Mac Jones have been looking for him. Career-wise, Kittle has 590 catches for 7,979 yards and 52 touchdown catches, averaging 13.5 yards per reception.
Kittle, a fifth-round draft pick by the 49ers out of Iowa in the 2017 NFL Draft, has at times also been a run option for the 49ers’ offense. He has 13 rushing attempts for 68 yards in his career.
Entering the second half, Kittle is going to have to get open more for Purdy to connect with him. But the Seahawks’ secondary has been doing a good job of keeping Kittle from being too involved in the 49ers’ offensive plays.
Let’s see if Kittle can get cooking with some more catches as Saturday night’s game rolls along at Levi’s Stadium.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
