Niners Nation
One of the most gut-wrenching moments of the San Francisco 49ers’ 23-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Wild Card round was the loss of George Kittle. Many of you who watched the video closely already knew Kittle ruptured his Achilles tendon. Turns out the 49ers’ training staff knew it as well and let Kyle Shanahan know as the first half was winding down.
“Losing Kittle early in the game, just obviously a depressing play for everybody when you see that,” Shanahan said following the game.
49ers owner and CEO Jed York went down to the locker room shortly after the injury to ask Kittle if he could get the tight end anything. Kittle had one request: tequila. His wish was granted as a 49ers employee brought Kittle a bottle to drink shortly after the request.
So Kittle remained in the locker room, with his bottle. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“I came in at halftime, and he was smiling,” 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said following the game. “He said, ‘I’m not dead yet, man. I’ll be back.’”
Now, whether Kittle drank the entire bottle himself, had some help, or left a little behind is unknown as of this writing. All we know is that when he was knocked out for the season, and probably in pain, the request was some hard liquor. It’s part of a legend that’s growing with many facts.
If you’ve seen much activity on X, you know I have recited many “facts” about George Kittle:
I never thought we’d have a fact emerge during his career, when he was suffering the worst injury of his career, of all things, and it fits right in with things like Santa Claus sending Kittle a Christmas list.
The 49ers will now be without Kittle through the remainder of their playoff run. It’s not just the loss of one of their best players. It’s also the heart and soul of this team, added to an already deep injury list.
“This team has carried the character of Kittle throughout the entire year,” 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said. “Since I got here, he’s the heart and soul of this team; it’s a tough loss.”
The 49ers will be traveling to Seattle to face the Seahawks at Lumen Field. The venue is notorious for being a difficult stadium for visiting teams. While the 49ers suffered a tough loss two weeks ago on their home turf at Levi’s Stadium, they did beat the Seahawks in Seattle all the way back in Week 1.
Brock Purdy already beat the Seahawks without Kittle once this season. He’ll be asked to do it again.
