George Kittle now has three games under his belt since returning from a groin injury. Things are starting to feel normal again for the San Francisco 49ers tight end. He had his best game of the season on Sunday, catching five passes for 47 yards. Although, he does get dinged for the fumble loss, his first since Week 9 of the 2021 season.
Most expected an acclimation period. While some wondered about Kittle's lack of production since his return, the coaches knew the tight end wouldn't start taking over games immediately.
"The more Kittle is out there and healthy, the more he practices, the more he can get back in the routine, I think that stuff will take care of itself," head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week as the team prepared for the Carolina Panthers.
He feels healthy again. So where is Kittle in his efforts to get back into football shape? Does the All-Pro feel he is at 100 percent again?
"I'll tell you, these last 10 days, I've definitely felt like myself," Kittle shared on Wednesday. "Battling back from a little groin stuff, that's never really fun, and just got to get back into that. But I definitely, this last week, I felt at my best playing. Nothing new came up from that, so I get to continue that streak and just keep going."
This season, Kittle knows the 49ers offense doesn't have to be an explosive unit just yet. That's because the defense is playing lights-out football right now. The defense has been playing so well that Kittle knows San Francisco will be tough to beat if the offense can reach a specific threshold.
"I always want the offense to put up a lot of points," Kittle shared. "I think if we can put up 30 a game, and the defense gets us one, I think we're going to win a lot of football games just based on our defense playing at the level they're playing. They haven't given up 20 points yet, have they? So we've just got to score 21.
"So I definitely feel like we've got a little bit more of a rhythm. I think a lot of guys made plays. We're going to need them to continue to make plays moving forward. Running backs ran well, and I think our offensive line is starting to feel it too."
San Francisco owns the top-ranked defense in total yards allowed and is tied for first with the Buffalo Bills in points allowed. The run defense ranks No. 1, and the pass defense ranks No. 3. No team has more sacks this season than the 49ers' 21.
With San Francisco putting a dominant defense on the field, opponents better watch out if the offense starts to roll. That includes this weekend's opponent, the Atlanta Falcons.
"I think our offense is definitely clicking a little bit, and I think we have an opportunity to go out there and do the same thing again," Kittle said. "I think this team that we're playing is very well-coached, just looking at them on tape. They've got some really physical players on defense. They set the edges really well. It's the same structure as kind of what the Rams do, so it's a defense that we see a ton. We've seen it like the last couple of weeks.
"Hopefully, [we'll do] similar things that work, but definitely have to change it up because they definitely have seen our game plans and what has worked. So we'll see what we come up with, and just looking forward to going out there and just playing football again."
