It was just like old times.
Despite not being in the game for his usual number of snaps, George Kittle had a substantial impact on the 49ers' 20-12 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The All-Pro tight end caught four of his five targets for 92 yards.
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As promised, coach Kyle Shanahan kept Kittle on a pitch count, only allowing him 13 snaps in the first half, which still led his position group. Ross Dwelley (11), Jordan Reed (4) and Daniel Helm (1) all took part in lightening the Kittle’s workload.
In the second half, Kittle, outside of a rare drop, looked to be back to his old self with three receptions for 78 yards -- many of which came after the catch. He led the team in receiving yards by a large margin, as Jerick McKinnon ranked second with 28.
Obviously, Kittle's presence on the field was a huge boost for the 49ers, but as Shanahan explained, they missed him on the sidelines, too.
“Everyone sees on the field what he means to us, how good of a player he is in the run game and the pass game.” Shanahan said after the win. “Just having Kittle at practice is different. We have guys like that, that affect our team that way. There’s a different buzz in the air.
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“When you lose a lot of those guys, it’s tough, just the inspiration of the guys who have done it before and who are at the top of their game.”
Kittle was on the field for 28 of San Francisco's 55 offensive plays in the victory, and he made the most of each one. His blocking in the run game helped Jeff Wilson have a career day with over 200 all-purpose yards.
“Kittle, we knew just getting him a part, dressing for us today would be a ton, but just what he was able to do even statistically in the pass game and always in the run game, can’t say enough about George."
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After missing eight games over the course of the season, Kittle was happy just to be back on the field. But he conceded following the win that he still is far from being at peak football shape after missing the last six contests.
“The game was moving pretty fast out there the first half,” Kittle said. “It slowed a little in the second half, sort of got a feel for it. I only had about 10 plays so I was able to let rip in the second half and it was fun to be out there.”