Trick play helps 49ers tight end George Kittle reach new heights against Cowboys

After being held without a touchdown over the first four games of the 2023 season, 49ers tight end George Kittle finally got his chance to find the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, and he delivered in a way he hadn't done previously over the course of his career.

Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy connected three times for 67 yards in a 42-10 win over the Cowboys, with all three of his catches going for touchdowns. It marked the first time Kittle caught three touchdowns in a game since at least his childhood, or maybe ever.

"That was my first one," Kittle told reporters after the game. "Yeah, I think so. Yeah. I mean, I was a hell of a 7th grade running back, I'll tell you that much. Running back and defensive end. I had a lot of sacks as well. But yeah, it's been a minute, but it's always fun."

Kittle had just 14 catches for 148 yards over the first four games of the season and caught just one pass for nine yards in a 35-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals last week. But, as he has done so often in the past, Kittle showed Sunday night that he can be called upon to deliver his biggest moments when the lights are brightest.

"I tell George all the time, he is primetime George," wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk said Sunday. "The couple of games that I played with him, either Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night whatever the case may be, he comes to win all the time."

The play that stood out among Kittle's three touchdowns was one called "toss 18 flea-flicker," where Kittle wound up being the recipient after the ball changed hands three different times in the backfield. It's a play that was identical to one that the Detroit Lions scored on with tight end Sam LaPorta earlier in the day, but the 49ers have run it in the past (with much less success) and constantly keep it in mind as a possibility.

"It's been in for a while," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "We ran it in the NFC Championship last year, didn't look as good. [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] was at quarterback, that was second half. Detroit ran it earlier in the day. They scored to [LaPorta] on it. So, something that we've had in for a little bit. We just walked through it every week and keep it up for when we needed to call it."

But even though the 49ers have long had that play in their bag of tricks, Kittle became a little more eager to pull it out once he saw a fellow University of Iowa product score on the play earlier in the day.

"We've had that installed since last year," Kittle said. "I want to say like Week 7 or 8. And it's just always up. I'm like, can we call it? And we called it last year in the FC Championship game with Christian didn't throw it because I think I was like, quadruple covered. Didn't really have much for threat of throwing last year, but it was fun. I actually saw I was sitting on my couch and I saw LaPorta scored on it with the Lions and I was like sent to my titan coach. I was like, 'Dude, they ran our play. How'd they know?'

"He was like, don't worry, we're going to run it better. And yes, ten yards farther out, so I guess that counts. But I'm never upset when two Iowa tight ends are scoring on the same play."

Kittle has always been one to say all the right things when he goes through dry spells statistically and did so again last week when he responded to his one-catch outing against the Cardinals by saying, "Whatever they ask of me, I'm going to do it." Still, there's no doubt Kittle is always happy to get his number called in the passing game, and when he cashes in on his opportunities, it fires up his teammates as well.

"I just think he kind of gets overshadowed sometimes, and I see a lot of tight ends around the league scoring touchdowns, and I'm kind of like, George deserves his due," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "And it was just a matter of time."

There won't always be enough opportunities to get every star player on the 49ers' offense big numbers in every game, so Kittle may go through more stretches in the future where he doesn't have many passes thrown his way. But he'll have his time to shine again soon enough, and he won't have a problem waiting his turn again before it happens.

"Last week versus the Arizona Cardinals I thought I was going to have 150 yards and three touchdowns and that's just not the way that game went," Kittle said. "Kyle Shanahan calls whatever's hot. That's how he feels and that's why he's such a talented play caller... It was just fun to be able to get into the end zone."

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• Why 49ers gained confidence to run flea-flicker in win over Cowboys NBCS Bay Area • Oct 9, 2023
• 49ers knew their trick play would work when Lions scored on same play hours earlier Pro Football Talk • Oct 9, 2023