Super Bowl 58 is just days away, where the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will meet in a rematch from the 2019 game. One of those players who played in the previous game is 49ers tight end George Kittle.
In Super Bowl 54, Kittle was just in his third year in the NFL and was coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. But in the most important game of the season, Kittle didn't do much.
He caught four receptions on seven targets for just 36 yards, with a long of 12 yards and no touchdowns. Perhaps that is par for the course for the now-veteran tight end. Kittle has now played in 11 postseason games and has only scored twice with 31 catches for 451 yards. One of those scores came back in the 2021 playoffs, and the other came during this postseason in the Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers.
Those kinds of numbers certainly pale in comparison to his Super Bowl 58 counterpart in the Chiefs, Travis Kelce. But that doesn't mean this game can't be Kittle's breakout postseason performance. Who knows — maybe Kittle is the x-factor to the 49ers prevailing over the Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl?
Kittle has been one of the reasons why the 49ers have been considered one of the best teams in the league over the last several years by his play at the tight end position. But the tight end now may have to prove that in the postseason if he wants to help the 49ers win their first Super Bowl championship since 1994. Of course, some of that could be determined by how healthy he is during the game. Nonetheless, let's get into some George Kittle bold predictions for Super Bowl 58.
“If you look at the last six Super Bowls there’s been an elite tight end that’s been playing on either team. It goes to show when you have a dominant TE that can affect the game in multiple ways you have a higher chance of winning.”
George Kittle always showing love to the TE’s pic.twitter.com/f0uzAbbw2W
— KNBR (@KNBR) February 8, 2024
George Kittle will have six catches on eight targets
Quarterback Brock Purdy and Kittle have now played in five postseason games with each other. The most that Purdy has targeted his tight end is seven times in this year's Divisional Round, with the least being two in the Wild Card Round last season. The most catches Kittle has caught from Purdy is five against the Dallas Cowboys in last year's Divisional Round, however, catching all his targets. We're calling that Kittle will have his most receptions in Super Bowl 58, overcoming the Chiefs' just under five they averaged to tight ends in 2023.
George Kittle will surpass his previous Super Bowl reception yardage total
In his first Super Bowl, Kittle had just 36 yards receiving and no scores. He was virtually non-existent. He's proven to be one of Purdy's favorite targets since taking over at quarterback, connecting 104 times for 1,564 yards and 16 touchdowns in 25 games. Only Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk have connected more. However, the duo has connected just 16 times for 272 yards and one score in five postseason games, per StatMuse. If Purdy can find his tight end more on Sunday, his yardage total just may go well beyond 36 yards, maybe hitting somewhere 50-plus. However, the problem may be the Chiefs' defense, which allowed 759 yards to tight ends in 2023, which averaged 44.6 yards per game.
George Kittle will be kept scoreless yet again in Super Bowl 58
As mentioned, Purdy and Kittle have just one postseason touchdown together, and Kittle alone has just two scores in his postseason career. The Chiefs' defense was one of the better teams against tight ends scoring in 2023, allowing just four touchdowns, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Kittle may find himself some yardage in this game, but he's unlikely to be touching paydirt. Kittle stays scoreless in his career in the Super Bowl.
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