Sunday at Levi’s Stadium brings more than a meeting between the 6-1 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders. It also puts two of the NFL’s best tight ends on the same field, and the contrast between George Kittle and Brock Bowers is as good as it gets.
The 49ers are likely to be short-handed on offense, with Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel expected to miss the game. But they’ll have Demarcus Robinson back, along with DeForest Buckner and Nick Bosa. The bigger draw, though, is the tight end matchup.
Kittle’s return from a torn Achilles in the playoffs last season has been nothing short of remarkable. It speaks to both the kind of athlete he is and the work he puts in.
As he moves toward a gold jacket, he’s closing in on territory very few tight ends have ever reached. He has 425 receiving yards this season, and with 75 more, he would join Rob Gronkowski as the only tight ends with 500-plus receiving yards in their first ten seasons, per NFL Communications.
There is an argument that Travis Kelce has already done it, but he played in a single game in his rookie season without recording a catch, and the NFL does not count it. Yes, I think it’s silly as well, but on Sunday, Kittle can join Gronk and strengthen his Hall of Fame case. Either way, Kelce will join both Kittle and Gronk as Hall of Famers.
Bowers is carving out his own place in that same conversation, and he’s doing it fast. He has gone over 500 yards in each of his three seasons.
His rookie year was electric, with 112 catches and 1,194 yards. Last season was slowed by injury, but he still posted 680 yards and, with Kirk Cousins, has 547 yards despite missing games because of injury.
What makes this matchup so compelling is that Kittle and Bowers do their damage in different ways. Kittle is the more traditional in-line force and is widely regarded as the best blocking tight end in the league. Bowers, meanwhile, lines up wide and wins against cornerbacks.
Kittle is said to be “winding down” his career, while Bowers is only beginning his. Trey McBride is also among the top tight ends, but Sunday’s game feels like a snapshot of the old guard against the new guard.
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San Francisco has also tended to come out of the bye ready to play, which only adds to the sense that this team knows how to navigate the stretch run. The upcoming schedule still has to be played, but the 49ers enter it with a familiar edge and a recent track record that makes them look well positioned to keep control of the No. 1-seed chase. [Read more 🡒]