The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a less-than-ideal position through five games to start the season. With a disappointing 2-3 record, the team has lost three of its last four matches, including two heartbreaking collapses against division rivals after leading by double digits. Up next: the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
On Tuesday morning, tight end George Kittle joined Bay Area radio station KNBR to instill some optimism in a fanbase that may be losing faith in the season. He acknowledged that while the 49ers have not met expectations and no one in the locker room anticipated a rough start, it's still early in the season. Notably, only two teams in the NFC have more than three wins.
"Everyone's still figuring out who they are," Kittle explained. "The teams, whatever the record is now, everything's going to look a lot different in four weeks. And so, we're just trying to be better in the next four weeks than we were the first five weeks, which, if we do that, I think people are going to be very happy with our record."
While the 49ers know they need to find answers, there remains a sense of calm in the locker room. No one is overreacting to the challenges of the 2024 season, fully aware that there's enough talent on the roster to right the ship.
"The only way to really calm the waters is to win on Thursday night," Kittle said. "That's the only way it's gonna do it. We talked the whole offseason. You know, there's expectations, guys talking about wanting to win Super Bowls, talking about wanting to win our division, go back and finish the job. And the only way that we're going to make that happen is to get some wins under our belt."
Kittle acknowledged the team's struggles in their three losses, particularly in the second halves of games, emphasizing the importance of finishing strong.
"I've been here for eight years with Coach [Kyle] Shanahan," Kittle continued. "I think, as an offense, we're a little bit disappointed in ourselves just because we feel like we're very talented, we have all the weapons that we need, and we haven't been able to close it out. Whether that's turnovers—or losing a kicker is kind of tough, too. I did not see that one coming. But not making any excuses. We need to play better, and we need to play at a much higher level.
"And the good news that I like is no one in our locker room is pointing fingers. It's like, 'Hey, look, we're in this together. We have to figure this out.' And whether it's by practicing, whether it's Coach Shanahan scheming it up, we have the players for it, we have the mindset for it, and we've just got to go out there and finish these dubs."
Kittle also drew on past experiences for encouragement. The 49ers have faced adversity before, notably enduring a three-game losing streak last October before rebounding to reach the Super Bowl.
The tight end looked back even further to his third NFL season for motivation.
"You look at the 2019 season, we found a way to win these really gritty games," Kittle reflected. "I remember winning a game in Washington like 10-3 or something like that (It was 9-0). It was one of the ugliest games I've ever been a part of, but when you get the win, no one even thinks about it again.
"So, all we have to do is we need to find ways to win here in the second half, close it out, not turn the ball over, and we're going to win more football games, and we're going to be right where we want to be. And the nice thing is, hey, our offensive line is healthy, [QB] Brock Purdy feels great. [WR] Deebo [Samuel] and [WR Brandon] Aiyuk are playing, I'm out there—we still have our guys.
"So, just getting a little bit of a rhythm, complete some passes, run the heck out of the football, get some turnovers on defense, and finish games, and I think the ship will right itself."
Kittle admitted that there were moments in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals when players didn't execute plays at a high enough level. However, the team remains confident in its ability to improve in that area.
"But I think we're going to figure those out," Kittle concluded. "Coach Shanahan, [run game coordinator and offensive line coach Chris] Foerster, [and tight ends coach Brian] Fleury are going to figure out the run game, and we'll just keep plucking away."
You can listen to Kittle's entire interview below.
