With the first third of the 2025 NFL regular season officially in the books, the San Francisco 49ers sit atop the NFC West with a 4-2 record heading into their Week 7 matchup on Sunday Night Football with the Atlanta Falcons.
Yes, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams hold the same 4-2 mark, but as the Niners hold head-to-head wins over both, they technically take the top spot. And even going to the second tiebreaker, which is the best record within the division, San Francisco has the edge there as well with a 3-0 record. Seattle and Los Angeles, meanwhile, are 1-1 and 0-1, respectively.
So, that's the good news.
The bad news for the Niners, of course, is they've been ransacked by injuries all season, with the latest casualty being four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, who both fractured and dislocated his right ankle in last Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With edge Nick Bosa already lost for the year with a torn ACL, the loss of Warner as well was obviously a big blow to the San Francisco defense.
The Niners offense has been hit hard as well. Brandon Aiyuk still hasn't played a single snap this season, and Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings have all missed time as well.
The biggest absence, however, has been that of tight end George Kittle, who went down in the first half of San Francisco's Week 1 win over Seattle with a hamstring injury and hasn't played since.
But that appears set to change, and his return is the key to saving the season. And we're talking both sides of the ball here.
George Kittle's return to 49ers lineup will help both offense and defense
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said earlier this week that Kittle is expected to return to practice this week, and if a guy with his competitive nature is healthy enough to practice, expect No. 85 to be in uniform against Atlanta come Sunday night.
Now, the easiest statement to make is that Kittle's return will make the offense stronger because of his ability to make plays as a receiver. And that's obviously true, as proven by his 575 career receptions for 7,860 yards and 48 touchdowns between the regular season and postseason.
On San Francisco's first offensive drive of this season, the six-time Pro Bowler caught three passes for 24 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown that helped the Niners to an early 7-0 lead.
So, we know he can catch the ball.
But Kittle is also arguably the best run-blocking tight end in the NFL, and it's this aspect of his game that's going to be crucial moving forward. Despite having a healthy tailback in Christian McCaffrey, which is just ridiculously ironic given his injury history, the Niners' run game has been absolutely dreadful, mostly thanks to horrible offensive line play, ranking third-worst in the league at just 82.2 yards per game.
Over the past few years, the 49ers have employed a fairly balanced offensive attack, combining the run and pass, which wears teams down and runs a lot of clock in the process. But that's just not been the case this year, as Shanahan has gone to a pass-heavy attack, and that's where Kittle's return could help on both sides of the ball.
If Kittle lines up as a receiver, he'll draw much more attention than backup tight ends Jake Tonges or Luke Farrell. And if Kittle is serving as a blocker, that's obviously a positive as well, as he can create space up front when called upon to do so and can also create some lanes down the field.
Can Kittle physically help the San Francisco defense? Of course not. But if his presence allows the 49ers to run the ball more, that runs more time off the clock, thus keeping the defense on the sidelines a little longer, which is what has to happen right now.
With all due respect to anyone coordinator Robert Saleh puts in Warner's spot, whether it's someone currently on the roster or someone San Francisco brings in via trade, that player isn't going to be a Fred Warner. The loss of a player of that caliber simply can't be replaced, which obviously means the defense as a whole will be weaker.
So, again, if Kittle can help the offense run more clock, whether it's extending drives as a receiver or helping out the running game with his blocking ability, there won't be quite as much pressure on the defense.
Kittle is the key, 49ers fans, and his return can't come soon enough.