SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Before the San Francisco 49ers' final drive of regulation against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, tight end George Kittle had two catches for 10 yards. In the three games before Sunday, the Niners' rookie had a combined five catches for 56 yards and a pair of costly drops in narrow losses to the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals.
Suffice to say, Kittle hadn't yet lived up to the lofty expectation that came with him winning the starting job during training camp and the preseason.
And then, suddenly, Kittle couldn't be stopped.
With the Niners trailing by a touchdown and a little more than five minutes left, quarterback Brian Hoyer only had eyes for Kittle. Hoyer and Kittle connected for a gain of 27 on the first play of the drive. Kittle went up in the air for a clutch 19-yard gain on fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive soon after and followed with grabs for gains of 19 and 3 yards.
Finally, with the game hanging in the balance and a fourth down at the Colts' 5, coach Kyle Shanahan again called Kittle's number, this time with Hoyer firing to him on a short slant with Kittle making the catch and battling his way into the end zone with Colts safety Malik Hooker draped all over him.
In one drive, Kittle caught five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown and looked like the player the Niners believe they stole with a fifth-round pick out of Iowa in May.
“[Those catches] were pretty good," Shanahan said. "We have high expectations for Kittle. He has been battling through some injuries, but he has done some good things for us in the run and pass game. And on that last drive in the last quarter he showed up big time for us.”
That performance was made all the sweeter for Kittle because it came in front of a large family contingent from the area. While Kittle shook his head and laughed that many of them were in Colts gear, he acknowledged that having a strong outing in front of aunts, uncles, cousins and immediate family made it more enjoyable.
"Coach Shanahan gave me the opportunity to go make a play and that’s all I really wanted to do," Kittle said. "You get a rhythm going in the offense, Brian is throwing great balls just giving me the opportunity to go up and make a play and that’s all I wanted to do and I’m just glad Coach Shanahan believes in me and is giving me those opportunities. So that’s all I was doing, just trying to take advantage of it."
The task for Kittle now is taking what he did in the closing moments of that game and turning it into more consistent production. Like any rookie, it's unfair to expect Kittle to duplicate such an outing every week but for a 49ers team that's giving plenty of opportunity to its rookie class; tangible progress from key youngsters is an integral part of this first season under Shanahan.
Kittle finished the game with seven catches for 83 yards, both career highs, and his first NFL touchdown. For the season, he has 17 catches for 166 yards and a score. Of course, despite those moments of success, the first quarter of the season had probably been remembered most for those drops against the Rams and Cardinals. In games the Niners lost by a combined five points, a catch from Kittle in either scenario might have made the difference between winning and losing.
That he was able to bounce back and make big plays on contested balls at crunch time is a good sign for the Niners and for Kittle's mindset moving forward.
"It helps making catches, making plays, it always helps everyone’s confidence," Kittle said. "You want to make those plays every single week. Sometimes you get more opportunities than others but I’m glad I could do as much as I could for the team this week. I could have done more earlier in the game so maybe next week that will change the outcome."