The\u00a0San Francisco 49ers\u00a0missed star tight end\u00a0George Kittle\u00a0against the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks, as his absence most definitely contributed to what ended up a narrow loss in the final seconds.<\/p>\n
San Francisco is now 5-5 and in a three-way tie for second place in an intensely competitive NFC West Division race. The 49ers will travel to Lambeau Field this weekend to take on the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0(7-3), and will do so absent wide receiver\u00a0Brandon Aiyuk\u00a0(out for the year with a torn ACL) and potentially without pass rusher\u00a0Nick Bosa\u00a0who suffered an oblique injury against Seattle on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Niners have had the Packers’ number in recent years, particularly in the playoffs, and Green Bay still feels like it is perhaps a year off from true\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a0contention.<\/p>\n
That said, the Packers are riding high after a blocked field goal on the last play of the game won them their Week 11 matchup against the\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0at Soldier Field, and going into Lambeau in late November and coming out with a victory is almost never a minimal task for any team — regardless of caliber.<\/p>\n
All of this is stacked against the 49ers before mentioning the fact that quarterback\u00a0Brock Purdy\u00a0is day-to-day with a shoulder issue he sustained against the Seahawks. As such, Kittle’s presence in the lineup against Green Bay is all the more crucial.<\/p>\n
Luckily for San Francisco, the team got good news on that front Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“George Kittle says he will ‘for sure’ play for the 49ers Sunday against Green Bay,”\u00a0David Lombardi of SF Standard wrote\u00a0in an X post on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n
Kittle has been excellent this season when healthy enough to play. The four-time All-Pro tight end has tallied\u00a043 receptions for 560 yards and 7 touchdowns\u00a0across eight appearances in 2024, missing two games so far due to injury.<\/p>\n
He sat out last week against Seattle with a hamstring issue.<\/p>\n
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