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49ers star George Kittle had a tough go at it in Super Bowl LVIII. The tight end made little impact on the offensive side of the ball, having a very quiet day in the passing game.
Kittle recorded just two catches on the night, totaling four yards. That was a far cry from his production in the team’s first two playoff games, where he hauled in a combined six receptions for 108 yards and a score.
With the offense held in check, the 49ers eventually fell in overtime to Kansas City by a score of 25-22.
The game itself was incredibly entertaining to viewers, but now, fans are beginning to get inside looks at the contest. Mic’d up clips have flooded social media this week, and one happened to catch Kittle in a embarrassing situation.
Kittle was blocking Chiefs defender George Karlaftis on a Christian McCaffrey run during the team’s opening drive. CMC fumbled, and the ball happened to roll in the tight end’s direction.
Unfortunately, he didn’t see it! With his back turned to the loose ball, hot mics caught him joking with Karlaftis while the ball trickled towards him.
By the time Kittle realized, it was too late. Kansas City recovered the football to end what had been a successful drive to that point.
Not the best look!
Yikes pic.twitter.com/TG6LDnVlAH
— trey wingo (@wingoz) February 16, 2024
It was one of seven loose balls to occur in that Super Bowl matchup, six of which were recovered by the Chiefs.
The mic’d up moment wasn’t the only to show a 49ers mistake. The decision to go on offense first in the overtime session is one that’s been criticized by NFL media since Sunday.
By taking the ball first, the 49ers put themselves at a disadvantage.
Videos of Chiefs players reacting to that decision in real time are now going viral online.
In the end, it just wasn’t the Niners’ night, but they made the job much more difficult with a few self-inflicted wounds!