Christian McCaffrey says 49ers will play for George Kittle the rest of the way
Kittle went down with an Achilles injury in Sunday's win over the Eagles
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2 min read
The San Francisco 49ers refused to let injuries stand in their way, as they went 12-5 in the regular season despite losing notable players such as Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. The 49ers overcame yet another major injury in their eventual 23-19 wild-card victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, as star tight end George Kittle was carted off in the second quarter after suffering an Achilles injury.
While the 49ers found a way to defeat the reigning Super Bowl champions on their home field, there is no getting around the fact that the loss of Kittle is a big one for this offense. Running back Christian McCaffrey described Kittle as the "heart and soul" of the team in his postgame press conference, and said that the 49ers are going to play for him as they attempt to make it back to the Super Bowl.
"This team has carried the character of George Kittle throughout the entire year, and since I got traded here, he's the heart and soul of this team," McCaffrey said. "And so, it's a tough loss. When he's not playing, it means a lot. But he's somebody that, even going through something that he had to go through, and us finding a way to finish, he's the first guy in the locker room smiling, bumping music, happy for his teammates.
"And when you lose a leader like that, you never really lose them because his presence is still in this locker room, his energy is still here, and he's a leader, and heart and soul of this team. And so, we're praying for him, love him, and we're going to play for him the rest of the way."
"This team has carried the character of George Kittle throughout the entire year. Since I got here, he's the heart and soul of this team. It's a tough loss."
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 12, 2026
CMC on George Kittle pic.twitter.com/GGffyBR1PV
Kittle caught 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 regular-season games played this year. He recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving campaigns in 2023-24. That earned him a four-year, $76.4 million extension this past offseason that made him the highest-paid tight end in NFL history.
Coach Kyle Shanahan is going to have to again adjust his offensive game plan with Kittle out, but go ahead and doubt the 49ers at your own peril. They just defeated the Eagles without two First Team All-Pros in Bosa and Warner. They didn't have their last two first-round picks in uniform with wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and pass rusher Mykel Williams, and didn't have their top four linebackers active with Warner, Dee Winters, Tatum Bethune and Luke Gifford. The 49ers' six highest-paid players have missed 60 games this season, including playoffs. But, it hasn't stopped them yet.
Up next for the 49ers are the No. 1-seeded Seattle Seahawks, who defeated San Francisco in Week 18, 13-3, to earn the first-round postseason bye. The 49ers won four straight meetings in Seattle, and reached the NFC Championship game in each of their last seven trips to the playoffs.
