George Kittle preferred to mock an opponent rather than recover a fumble in Super Bowl LVIII

George Kittle prepares to make a catch against the Chiefs.

It was only on the sixth play of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs..

George Kittle is one of the best tight ends today, not only because of his good numbers but because of his blocking and execution on each play. However, a bad decision in Super Bowl LVIII is costing him criticism and ridicule from fans after the painful 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

San Francisco opened the game with a bang at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an offensive series that took them to the Chiefs’ 40-yard line, whose defense struggled to contain Brock Purdy’s offense throughout the first half.

With the end zone within reach, running back Christian McCaffrey took the pigskin and tried to run down the right side of the formation. With the impact, McCaffrey released the ball, which drifted to whoever could grab it. That’s when Kittle’s mistake occurred.

Kittle’s unfortunate taunt

During the play, Kittle had done a good job blocking defensive lineman George Karlaftis to make way for McCaffrey.

After the initial collision, the Niners tight end faced Karlaftis for a second to say “Hey George”-as revealed by the NFL Network program “Turning Point”-and just at that moment, the fumble occurred behind him.

Attentive to what was happening, Karlaftis jumped for the ball and ended up recovering it. Kittle immediately jumped behind the opponent, but it was too late, and the ball changed hands at the Chiefs’ 27-yard line.

The game was far from over at that moment, and even if Kittle had been attentive to the play, as he should have done, it is impossible to know if he would have managed to recover the ball.

The reaction of the fans

The revelation of “Turning Point” caused a stir on social media, where there were both defenders and detractors of Kittle. Among the former, they agree there was no way for the player to know what was happening behind his back.

“Damn, forgot George had eyes on the back of his helmet,” said one fan. “I love people that take 5-second clips and pretend they would have done something different than the best athletes in the world,” launched one more.

Among the criticism, you can read: “And you all say he’s better then [Travis] Kelce,” “Kittle likes to have fun during the game, but he has to be smarter than this,” and “That’s worse than Cam Newton,” among others.

The play was indeed happening behind his back, but it is also true that he should have paid more attention to the play and less effort in mocking the opponent. Although San Francisco lost the game in 60 minutes and not in a single play, the question will always remain: What would have happened if…?

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