SANTA CLARA – George Kittle never has been one to mince words, and following Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers tight end had plenty to say.
Specifically, the six-time Pro Bowl player said the onus is on San Francisco’s offense to keep the 2025 NFL season from spinning any further out of control than it already has.
“Our team is going to have to rely on our really good veteran offense to score a lot of points and not turn the ball over, and we really didn’t do that today,” Kittle said after the 49ers were humbled in a 42-26 loss at Levi’s Stadium. “That’s going to be the case moving forward. Our offense has to play at an incredibly high level, we have to score a lot of points, we cannot turn the ball over.”
With a few exceptions, the 49ers weren’t able to do much of any of that against the Rams.
They trailed 21-7 at the half in a game that was nearing blowout status until the 49ers were able to put a few respectable drives together in the fourth quarter.
The stats from this game are somewhat misleading, however.
More than 200 of San Francisco's 393 yards of offense came in the second half when the 49ers were playing catch up. Kittle’s 13-yard touchdown catch from Mac Jones basically came in garbage time.
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The 49ers also coughed up the ball twice, one on a Jones interception that looked forced and the other on a Jauan Jennings fumble in the first quarter.
Afterward, there was a clear pall looming in the air of the 49ers' locker room.
“We can be our own worst enemy sometimes,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “If we just stay on our P's and Q's and continue to be efficient and not have mental errors and other things like that, we have a chance.
“The beauty of this league is you can win every game, you can loose every game. Today wasn’t our day. We got to move on.”
That might be easier said than done.
Unlike their loss to the Texans two weeks ago in Houston, this was a game the 49ers felt they could have and should have won. Instead, they fell behind the Rams in a very crowded NFC West, with both teams chasing the Seattle Seahawks.
Kittle believes it’s possible as long as San Francisco’s offense does its part.
“That’s just the way the season’s going to go,” he said. “Our offense has to play at a high level, efficient, not turn the ball over, score points, score in the red zone and then we’ll win a lot of games. When we’re not doing that, [Sunday’s loss] is going to happen.”