The 49ers dropped an ugly 44-23 loss to the Chiefs in Week 7 and fell to 3-4 in what would be the low point of their rocky start to the 2022 campaign. Then they soundly beat the Rams the following week to climb back to the .500 mark. Then they came out of the bye week and knocked off the Chargers. It feels like the 49ers are getting right just in time for a playoff push.
Tight end George Kittle had an explanation for the turnaround during an interview with Damon and Ratto on 95.7 the Game in San Francisco. He told hosts Kevin Gleason and Ray Ratto that the team’s sense of urgency has increased since their loss to the Chiefs.
“I feel like our last 2-3 weeks in practice, we’ve looked so much cleaner,” Kittle said via 95.7 the Game. “I think guys have understood what their role is, what we need to do in the run game. The sense of urgency, I think that’s just really picked up.”
The 49ers are familiar with an uptick in urgency over the second half of a season. Last year they were in dire straits at 3-5 after nine weeks and coming off a brutal home loss to the Cardinals and their backup quarterback Colt McCoy.
They responded by ripping off seven wins in their last nine games to secure a playoff spot that led them to a second NFC championship game in three years. They’re looking for a similar leap this season.
“If we do what we need to do and what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be right where we wanna be come playoff time. That’s all we’re really focused on,” Kittle said.
If the 49ers go on a run like the one they had last season, they could find themselves back atop the NFC West and hosting a playoff game in mid-January. And given their playoff track record under head coach Kyle Shanahan, a playoff run could last awhile.
