George Kittle isn’t surprised by the 49ers slow start.
San Francisco 49ers tight end Georgie Kittle, who made history with Brock Purdy on Sunday, had a one-on-one interview with Erin Andrews in which the topic of the team’s slow start came up. The eight-year veteran revealed he wasn’t shocked by the 49ers’ difficult start to the season, just given the nature of the NFL.
“Shock? No. Cause the NFL’s hard. It’s hard to win football games. There’s definitely pressure to succeed. You always feel that. Stuff happens. While that’s not our expectation and we’re not happy with a 2-2 record. Our only goal is we want to better in October than we were in September.”
Kittle, who didn’t play in Week 3, has been big piece of the 49ers offense to start the season. In three games, he collected 15 catches for 161 yards and two scores.
In Week 5, he caught eight passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Boundless, infectious energy of George Kittle gives to 49ers
Erin Andrews asked Kittle about the importance of having fun and how it affects his performance and team.
“I think [having fun] is a testament to both (head coach) Kyle Shanahan and (president of football operations & general manager) John Lynch. They’ll handle it. I think coach Shanahan about letting guys be themselves, but applying pressure when he finds it necessary. You can tell he loves football. He always says, ‘I love my family more, but I love football.’
In Week 4, Kittle had some fun on the sideline with Brock Purdy.
“I mean, I saw your Applebee’s commercial, you’re an actor,” Kittle said. “Can I get a discount code?”
In Week 3, since Kittle did not play, he got to watch Jauan Jennings go off with 11 receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
“That was really fun, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jauan,” said Kittle. “It was just fun. You miss [being] on the sideline, I hate not being there….but being able to watch the TV copy, the close-ups on his (Jennings) emotions and stuff like that, I see that every day in person. But to be able to see how the world gets to see it was a very cool experience. Because you see how much that guy loves the game, how he competes, how good of a player he is, so that part was fun.”
Last offseason, Kittle had some fun when he participated in WWE’s Wrestlemania with The Miz and Pat McAfee.
“Hope you had fun,” Lynch reportedly texted Kittle. “Don’t do that again.”
Fun is a recurring theme in Kittle’s life, both on and off the field.
