Victorious 49ers advance, but star tight end George Kittle’s season ends abruptly with a devastating Achilles tear, overshadowing their hard-fought win.
The San Francisco 49ers punched their ticket to the Divisional Round with a 23–19 wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but the victory came with a devastating cost.
Tight end George Kittle suffered a torn Achilles in the second quarter, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed after the game, ending the All-Pro’s postseason and casting a shadow over an otherwise resilient performance from a battered roster.
“Losing Kittle early in the game was obviously a depressing play for everybody when you see that,” Shanahan said postgame. “Guys stepped it up and still made plays and competed. To find a way to win that game, we thought it would be a grind-it game, and it was. Our defense allowed it to be that way.”
The injury occurred on Kittle’s first catch of the afternoon. As he was being tackled toward the sideline by safety Marcus Epps, Kittle planted his foot and immediately went down, clutching his lower leg. The reaction was instant and ominous. Medical staff attended to him on the field before helping him onto a cart, where quarterback Brock Purdy and several teammates tapped him on the helmet in support as he was taken to the locker room.
The moment felt eerily familiar. The last time these two teams met in the postseason, the 2023 NFC Championship Game, Purdy’s day ended on the opening drive with a torn UCL. This time, the injury struck later, but the emotional weight was just as heavy.
At the time of Kittle’s departure, the 49ers trailed 13–7. They managed to finish the drive with a field goal, then leaned heavily on their defense as the game devolved into a fight. Without their emotional leader and most reliable tight end, the offense sputtered for long stretches before rallying late with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to stun the Eagles and advance.
Kittle’s absence looms large moving forward. A seven-time Pro Bowler and one of the league’s premier two-way tight ends, he is central not only to the 49ers’ passing attack but also to their run game and identity. His loss is the latest blow in a season defined by attrition.
San Francisco reached the postseason despite navigating a relentless wave of injuries. Purdy missed eight games with a turf toe injury. Nick Bosa was lost for the season. Fred Warner played just six games and is hoping a deep playoff run opens the door for a return. Kittle himself had already missed six weeks earlier this season.
And yet, in true Kittle fashion, even in the immediate aftermath of a brutal injury, his personality still broke through. According to teammates, once the initial pain subsided, Kittle cracked a smile and asked for tequila.
It was a reminder of who he is to this team: a tone-setter, an energy source, and a player whose presence is felt well beyond the stat sheet.
The 49ers now turn their attention to a Divisional Round matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, riding momentum but once again forced to adapt without another one of their stars. They are three wins away from a Lombardi Trophy, and if this postseason has proven anything so far, it’s that this team knows how to survive. Still, losing George Kittle is a gut punch no amount of resilience can fully soften.