The San Francisco 49ers will do battle with their former local rivals on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium as the Las Vegas Raiders come to town. The 6-1 49ers will likely be shorthanded on offense, with Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel expected to miss the game, but they’ll get Demarcus Robinson back, along with DeForest Buckner and Nick Bosa.
The storylines can begin with the rivalry, or we can continue with the Kirk Cousins/Kyle Shanahan narrative. Also, the Kubiak/Shanahan connection is worthy of a mention.
The real highlight will be the two superstar tight ends for the Raiders and the 49ers.
Let’s start with George Kittle. His recovery from a torn Achilles in the playoffs last season is as close to a modern miracle as there is. It’s a testament to the freak athlete he is and how hard he works. As Kittle prepares to wear a gold jacket, the tight end is close to rarefied air for any tight end. This season, Kittle has 425 receiving yards and, with 75 more, will 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 achieved this feat, but he played in a single game in his rookie season without recording a catch, and the NFL doesn’t recognize the achievement. Yes, I think it’s silly as well, but on Sunday, Kittle can join Gronk and make his Hall of Fame case stronger. Either way, Kelce will join both Kittle and Gronk as Hall of Famers.
On the flip side, Brock Bowers is on his way to the same distinction with over 500 yards in each of his three seasons. His rookie season was sensational with 112 receptions and 1,194 yards. Last season was an injury-riddled season, but he still managed to put up 680 yards and, with Kirk Cousins, has recorded 547 yards, despite missing games due to injury.
Now, the beauty of the two tight ends is how effective and impactful both are, but in very different ways. Kittle plays inline much more and is widely known as the best blocking tight end in the NFL, while Bowers is split out wide and beats cornerbacks.
While Kittle is supposedly “winding down” his career, Bowers is just getting started. Trey McBride is another top tight end, but Sunday will be a matchup of the old guard vs. the new guard.
We have to truly appreciate Kittle while he’s still playing. Bowers will be a joy to watch for the rest of his career. Sunday isn’t National Tight End Day, but it should be.
