George Kittle on 49ers' Super Bowl 54 Loss to Chiefs: 'You Gotta Move On'
May 15, 2020
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle spoke about his team's 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, telling Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that "you gotta move on."
"The more you watch it, the more it sucks," Kittle said. "I will say that. It's not like a dark cloud following me around. It is what it is, it happened. You gotta move on. I don't know if I'll use the loss as motivation, but there's definitely a hunger there. I think that resonates with a lot of guys. I just wanna play football again."
The 49ers led 20-10 in the fourth quarter before the Chiefs scored three touchdowns in the final 6:13 for the win.
Kittle was largely held in check (four receptions, 36 yards) but was sensational all year in helping guide the 49ers to their first Super Bowl appearance in seven seasons, catching 85 passes for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns despite missing two games due to injury.
The 49ers also rapidly improved from a 4-12 record the year before, when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 to the Chiefs. They finished an NFC-best 13-3 and steamrolled the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers by a combined score of 64-30 to reach the Super Bowl.
Kittle may very well get a chance to move on and make the Big Game next season, as his 49ers lead the NFC odds ledger at +375 ($100 bet to profit $375) to represent the conference once again, per Caesars Palace.
