The 49ers star appeared frustrated with his usage after an uninspiring day on Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers suffered a 35-10 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, dropping to 5-7 on the season with yet another blowout defeat on the road.
It was an ugly outing for San Francisco, who had a number of scoring opportunities early that they failed to capitalize on, while they struggled to defend the run in a snow game against the high-flying Bills.
San Francisco only generated 86 passing yards on the day, as quarterback Brock Purdy was 11/18 for 94 yards in the loss, averaging a measly 5.2 yards per attempt in the poor conditions.
One player who seemingly didn’t seem to get much attention was tight end George Kittle, who had his worst game of the season with just one catch for seven yards on two targets.
Prior to Sunday, Kittle had earned at least four targets in every game, while going for at least 40 receiving yards, while eclipsing the 50-yard mark in seven of his nine prior outings.
But, against the Bills, San Francisco’s leading receiver was nowhere to be found, and he had some visible frustration postgame when asked about his usage.
“I do not have an explanation,” Kittle said. “I think I ran like six more routes the rest of the day [after catching San Francisco’s first pass of the game].”
“I felt pretty open multiple times. It is what it is.”
Quarterback Brock Purdy chalked the lack of usage to the way the weather conditions were, as well as the success in the run game.
“I thought we had some good plays drawn up. It’s just tough with the conditions,” Purdy said after the game. “We’re running the ball so well, and then when we did have the opportunities to throw balls, the reads just didn’t get me to George [Kittle] within the play. So it’s just sort of how it went. But obviously, we’d love to get George the ball as many times as we can, and it sucks that we didn’t.”
While the snowy conditions put a wrench into the 49ers’ passing game plans, there isn’t a viable reason for the 49ers to use Kittle as a blocker significantly even without starters Trent Williams and Aaron Banks out on the left side of the offensive line.
In fact, Jaylon Moore has performed well in two consecutive weeks in pass protection, while Ben Bartch had a solid game working in place of an injured Banks on Sunday as well.
Kittle has been San Francisco’s best receiver in 2024, regardless of position. He’s also been their most consistent and their top threat in the red zone.
Well, the 49ers made it to Buffalo territory on each of their first five possessions, including one trip to the red zone on their second offensive drive. The only touch Kittle got in that sequence was from the team’s first play from scrimmage, which was a seven-yard pass from Brock Purdy.
San Francisco needs to create opportunities for their most reliable option, and that wasn’t the case this past Sunday.