ATLANTA – George Kittle hates losing. Let’s set the record straight on that.
Yet after the San Francisco 49ers suffered their first setback of the season the star tight end was quick to find a silver lining.
“I would have much rather won,” Kittle said after the 29-20 loss against the Atlanta Falcons was sealed with his fumble in the final minute.
“Losing’s never great, but when you do lose, I think, especially in this organization, like, it makes everybody just really look at yourself in the mirror. And all I think it’s going to do is spark a bigger fire underneath us. All we want to do is win.”
Well, it will be at least two weeks before the no-longer-perfect 49ers (6-1) can do that again.
Next week, they have a bye. San Francisco returns to action
in Week 9 on Nov. 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders. That they head into a bye may not be so good for the psyche or soul – they can hear about the loss for two weeks – but in this particular case it comes at an opportune time as coach Kyle Shanahan’s team has been so ravaged by injuries.
The bye week will help in healing their bodies…while their minds will just have to deal with the loss.
“It’s going to sour everybody’s week,” Kittle said. “Kyle’s week, he’s probably just angry at the world. I’m not going to be incredibly happy the entire time, but I think that’s good.
“Would I have rather won? Absolutely. Way more fun. But hey, it could be worse. We didn’t have a bunch of guys injured today. I think we made out pretty healthy.”
Given the way the 49ers season has gone so far in the health department, that’s some kind of a win.
And as the grind continues there are bigger wins to pursue. Kittle said that as the 49ers stacked up victories the past six weeks, he didn’t hear any talk among teammates about chasing a perfect season.
Said Kittle, “I’m just like, ‘Get through another week, play at a high level, stay healthy, win a football game.’ ”
The 49ers may not be perfect, but there’s still a chance for a perfect ending.
Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Kittle says first 49ers loss will 'sour' bye week – and that's good
