In NFL Following San Francisco’s NFC Championship loss, the star tight end pondered on the injuries to Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson.
Following the 49ers’ 31-7 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game on Sunday, George Kittle provided a brutally honest appraisal of the day’s performance.
George Kittle had three catches for 32 yards in the game, but it’s reasonable to ask whether his effect would have been higher if quarterback Brock Purdy hadn’t suffered an early-game elbow injury.
To make matters worse, backup Josh Johnson struggled immensely before leaving the game with a concussion, forcing San Francisco to revert to a limited Brock Purdy who couldn’t pass.
George Kittle lamented his team’s quarterback issues after the game, lamenting the painful loss as only he can
“How does it feel to lose an NFC championship game because I don’t have a quarterback? To be honest, it’s quite s—ty. “That’s all there is to it,” he added.
George Kittle’s outrage at the NFC title defeat is reasonable, given that his team’s prospects of winning were severely harmed practically immediately after kickoff. The 49ers, winners of their last 12 games entering Sunday, had been one of the NFL’s finest teams since seventh-round rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo took over for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo following Week 12.
Brock Purdy departed the game in the first quarter after sustaining a huge blow on his right arm from Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick during the Niners’ first possession. Following a review, the play resulted in a fumble, which Philadelphia recovered.
With Brock Purdy out, the 49ers looked to Johnson, their only other active quarterback, to lead the way, but the 15-year veteran was unable to get much going against Philly’s devastating pass rush. Johnson finished 7-of-13 for 74 yards and two sacks before being called out with a concussion on the first drive of the third quarter.
The Niners’ woes worsened when the injured Brock Purdy returned to the game with the team down 21-7
Brock Purdy’s injury pushed all-purpose running back Christian McCaffrey, who scored on a 23-yard dash in the second quarter, to do a little more and temporarily play quarterback.
Brock Purdy ended the game 4-of-4 for 23 yards, capping off a strong year for the 23-year-old following his rise in the absence of Garoppolo. Brock Purdy had 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions during the regular season, a performance that will undoubtedly make training camp interesting with incumbent starter Trey Lance due to return from a season-ending ankle injury suffered in Week 2.
