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旧金山近端锋乔治难应付的(85)celebrates after scoring a 34-yard touchdown on the 49ers’ first possession of the second half.
Stephen Lam / The Chronicle
“There goes my bursa sac,”George Kittlesaid, gesturing toward his right knee with an ironic smile. TheSan Francisco 49ers’ irrepressible tight end, pot-stirrer and comic book character come to life was standing at his locker on Christmas Eve with the undaunted swagger of the class troublemaker who had just aced the final, and nothing was going to slow his roll.
His long dirty-blond hair covered by a Santa hat, his gold pants streaked with blood, his neck adorned with a wooden lei, Kittle wasn’t stressed about dispensing proprietary medical details — the bursting of a fluid-filled bursa sac happens to him semi-frequently — or, to be fair, much of anything.
After all, he’d just gone off in a game for the second time in nine days, with a prolific performance that blew open a close contest and helped vanquish the Washington Commandersby a 37-20 score. For the Niners, it was going to be a very Merry Christmas.
Never mind the reprimand that surely awaits him in a couple of days. The 49ers (11-4) had just won their eighth consecutive game to stay in hot pursuit of the Vikings in the race for the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed, and he had a hibachi feast waiting at home for him, his wife Claire and their extended families.
“There is nothing better than hibachi,” said Kittle, who had just spent three hours frying the Commanders’ secondary.
Kittle was so good on Saturday that, quite possibly, he’d earned the begrudging approval ofKyle Shanahan, his head coach and chief critic. However, it won’t surprise anyone if Shanahan reminds Kittle of his missteps, including the 34-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter that he admittedly “stole” from teammate Ray-Ray McCloud.
In the words of Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk, Kittle’s close friend and fellow frequent fall guy, “Kyle’s hard on us, ’cause he expects a lot from us. We’ve been with him a long time.”
Shanahan’s propensity for pointing out Kittle’s foibles is an open secret in the 49ers’ locker room, a state of affairs that might surprise people on the outside. It’s not like he’s a liability: On Wednesday, Kittle earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection in six seasons, and his six-catch, 120-yard, two-touchdown performance on Saturday showcased his unique skill set, which includes peerless prowess in running after the catch and blocking on the edge.
但麻烦的是异于常人的性格,愿意go off script and perceived lack of attention to detail tend to trigger his exacting head coach, who has seen him morph from a try-hard fifth-round draft pick to a full-fledged media darling. Put it this way: While Kittle proudly displayed his “player of the game” lei, courtesy of Niners safety Talanoa Hufanga, he wasn’t counting on Shanahan making a similar proclamation. “It is what it is,” Kittle said, laughing.
For example, at some point during the practice week that preceded Saturday’s game, Kittle left his feet to catch a touchdown pass from rookie quarterbackBrock Purdy, earning some approving cheers from some teammates.
“He didn’t have to jump,” Shanahan muttered, according to one witness.
We can only surmise that Shanahan will eventually let Kittle hear it in response to Saturday’s theft of the end-zone pass intended for McCloud, made possible by the tight end’s impromptu adjustment.
With the score tied at 7 and the Niners facing a 3rd-and-4 from the Washington 34 with 10:44 remaining in the third quarter, Kittle was supposed to run a 15-yard crossing route to occupy safeties Bobby McCain and Darrick Forrest and clear out space for McCloud, who was running a deep post.
However, Kittle noticed a wide swath of space between the safeties in the middle of the field and improvised.
I’m not gonna run to get covered, Kittle thought to himself.Screw that — I’m scoring.
As Purdy’s pass sailed toward the middle of the end zone, Kittle swooped in and caught it a half-step ahead of McCloud, who wrapped him in a half-hearted hug as they reached the back of the end zone.
“I thought Ray-Ray was the safety coming to rip my head off,” Kittle told me. “He said, ‘That was mine.’ I was like, ‘Oops.’”
嘿,即使在圣诞节,有时是更好的to receive than give — at least when you’re a target-starved tight end on a team full of playmakers. Not only is Kittle quite aware that fantasy-football playoff season is in full force — “Maybe,” he said slyly — but he’s also quite mindful of how scarce his opportunities are relative to some of his peers.
The Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson, for example, caught 13 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns against the New York Giants during Saturday’s early window.
“他有15目标!”难应付的说,谁会eight passes thrown his way against the Commanders. “I saw him score his second touchdown as I was about to head out for warm-ups, so I said, ‘I’ve gotta go off.’”
Coming offa made-for-Hollywood performance(four catches, 93 yards, two TDs) in the Thursday night victory over the Seattle Seahawks that clinched the NFC West, Kittle took things up a notch against Washington.
His second end-zone trip, a 33-yard reception that made it 21-7 with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter, was a classic Kittle catch-and-run, as the tight end collected Purdy’s pass near the left sideline at the 27, got a great block from wide receiver Jauan Jennings and then deftly cut back inside.
Then, with the 49ers in position to close out the game, Kittle almost caught a third TD: When Shanahan, leading 30-20, elected to go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Washington 11 with 3:02 remaining — hey,we told you how little regard he has for Commanders owner Dan Snyder, his former employer — Purdy put a low pass that Kittle somehow managed to catch just short of the goal line, even as safety Jeremy Reaves dove in front of him and got a hand on the ball.
In typical Kittle fashion, some of his most important contributions were of the selfless variety. Yes, he may have “Grinched it” while pilfering the pass intended for McCloud, but he also threw a pivotal block that helped spring the swift wideout on a 71-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring with 6:26 left in the first half. Lined up on the right side of the line, Kittle drifted diagonally, lured defensive end James Smith-Williams to his inside shoulder and then bolted to his right, obliterating cornerback Benjamin St-Juste while leaving Smith-Williams for running backChristian McCaffrey.
“The defensive end played it perfectly for us,” Kittle said. “I was able to keep him on my inside shoulder, and then Christian eats his hip, and I’ve just gotta get the corner. So I went and ate the corner.”
If Kittle had food on his mind — well, remember, hereallylikes hibachi. “He’s obsessed with it,” Claire Kittle said as she waited for her husband outside the Niners’ locker room.
Eventually, George emerged, gave a quick hello to his wife, parents and other family members, and then raced off to do his news conference.
When he returned, Claire ran forward to greet him — by leaving her feet and leaping into his arms, wrapping her legs around his torso.
Had Shanahan witnessed the scene, he might have surmised that gratuitously leaving one’s feet is a staple of the Kittle household.
Hey, it is what it is — and Kittle, even if he sometimes drives his head coach crazy, is a major reason the 49ers are the hottest team in football.
Michael Silver is a columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: mike.silver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MikeSilver
