George Kittle’s maniacal fourth-down catch and run all but sealed 49ers’ enthralling win

Jake Hutchinson added this on December 8, 2019

George Kittle is not like most folks. As much as calling football players “warriors” is a cliche, it’s not hard to imagine Kittle thriving in the trenches of Ancient Greece as a Spartan. He might be the best player in the National Football League, and he showed both his quality and absurd, almost lunatic-like relentlessness in a game-sealing play on Sunday.

On 4th-and-2, with the 49ers not just needing a first down, but about 30 yards to get in Robbie Gould’s field goal range. Not only did Kittle (6 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD) convert, but he rumbled downfield with the reckless abandon of a human wrecking ball. With his facemask being held, Kittle kept churning. In a moment, the 49ers went from being out of control of their own destiny to a moment from pulling off the defining victory of the NFL season.

It set the 49ers up for what should have been a simple chip shot, even for Gould’s struggles (was 14-of-18 below 40 yards). While Gould was the “hero,” it was really Mitch Wishnowsky, who was snapped an embarrassingly-poor ball from long snapper Kyle Nelson. Wishnowsky got it down, somehow, in time, and the 49ers left New Orleans with their NFC West Division chances still intact and a 48-46 win.

 

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