Why George Kittle is key to solving 49ers’ red-zone woes without Christian McCaffrey-ZoomTech News

Ever the showman, George Kittle soared via the air throughout pregame warm-ups, dunking an imaginary basketball over the goalpost to the delight of San Francisco 49ers’ followers, who had been egging him on from the stands.

The flashy transfer was a foreshadowing of issues to come back two weeks in the past in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals. Kittle would rating in the identical finish zone on a 4-yard move from quarterback Brock Purdy.

Total, nevertheless, scoring within the crimson zone has been problematic for a workforce that has but to click on on all cylinders offensively. The 49ers had the No. 1-ranked red-zone offense a 12 months in the past at 67.1%. However via the primary six weeks of this season, they’re tied for No. 25 within the NFL at 44.4%. 

In fact, the 49ers are lacking final 12 months’s NFL Offensive Participant of the Yr, do-it-all operating again Christian McCaffrey. Out because the begin of the season with Achilles tendinitis, McCaffrey led the league in whole red-zone touchdowns in 2023 with 18.

With McCaffrey’s return date nonetheless unsure, Purdy and the 49ers have leaned extra on Kittle. The dynamic tight finish leads the NFL with 10 catches and 5 touchdowns within the crimson zone via six video games. He has scored touchdowns in 4 straight video games. 

Kittle will must be at his finest on Sunday when the 49ers host the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. The defending Tremendous Bowl champs are tied for No. 10 within the league in red-zone protection (46.7%). 

Kittle was significantly efficient in San Francisco’s highway victory final week in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks. He had two touchdowns within the crimson zone — a toe-tapper on an out route alongside the sideline and a pinpoint laser by Purdy over the center of the sector. 

“Each touchdowns had been only a belief issue,” Purdy stated. “One thing that we have continued to develop at all through the offseason and all through the video games that we have performed collectively.”

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan stated the touchdowns are a part of his offense’s evolution in that space of the sector with out McCaffrey. 

“The onerous factor with the crimson zone, there’s not one factor,” Shanahan stated postgame on Sunday. “There’s a couple of performs [Purdy] may have been extra decisive on and had, however that is not the entire red-zone struggles. However while you wrestle operating the ball, [don’t] have numerous nice seems and then you definately miss a couple of that we may have scored on — Brock’s at all times going to come clean with that stuff. However that wasn’t actually the theme. He was actual decisive in the present day, made two big-time throws there on third down. 

“It was a step in the correct route.”

Whereas Kittle is getting used extra close to the top zone within the passing sport, San Francisco nonetheless must get Jordan Mason and the operating sport going extra persistently in that space of the sector. Mason is tied for the league lead with 26 carries for 75 speeding yards and three scores within the crimson zone. However he additionally misplaced a fumble that led to the late-game loss to the Cardinals in Week 5. And Mason is not as dynamic catching the ball out of the backfield as McCaffrey. 

Utilizing Kittle extra as a focus blocking for Jordan may assist. The 49ers have averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored all three of their speeding touchdowns on exterior carries when Kittle has been on the sector this season. With Kittle off the sector, they’ve averaged simply 3.8 yards per stick with it exterior rushes, with no touchdowns.

So, whether or not it is throwing or operating the soccer within the crimson space, Kittle should proceed to have an impactful function in getting the ball throughout the objective line for San Francisco. He is key to retaining the 49ers within the combine till McCaffrey returns. 

 Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for greater than a decade, protecting the Los Angeles Rams for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma Information Tribune. Comply with him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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