One would figure All-Pro tight end George Kittle would have a significant impact on National Tight Ends Day.
He did. Unfortunately, pretty much the rest of the San Francisco 49ers offense didn't.
The Niners fell 26-15 to the Houston Texans in Week 8. And while the casual box-score analyst would look at the final tally and suggest it was a defensive problem for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co., Kittle fully took the responsibility for the loss on the offense's shoulders.
It's hard to argue anything else.
San Francisco failed to net a first down until the waning moments of the second half, marking the longest time it took to achieve such a feat in the Shanahan era dating back to 2017. As a result, the 49ers found themselves trailing early and ultimately recorded a mere 12 first downs, a sharp contrast to Houston's 23.
And the Texans more than doubled the Niners, in terms of time of possession.
George Kittle fully blames 49ers offense for Week 8 loss to Texans
It'd be easy to point fingers at the defense after giving up 475 yards of total offense, but that's not the direction Kittle took.
In contrast, the veteran blamed his side of the ball even after he notched one of San Francisco's two touchdowns.
"When you operate the way that we did in those first three, four drives, which is just honestly, really, really bad, is what I would say," Kittle told reporters after the loss. "From [missed assignments], the procedure penalties, to holdings, whatever they were, I mean we just played bad football on offense today."
Indeed, the 49ers struggled on third downs, going 3-of-9, whereas the Texans were 9-of-16. And with Houston regularly extending drives and keeping the Niners' depleted defense on the field, the score getting out of hand was inevitable.
Kittle pointed out those faults, too.
"I thought our defense played really well," Kittle added. "For the pieces that were lost during the game, guys who had to come out for the game, guys who had to go in for the game, guys who were already missing, like I thought our defense played really well. They were flying around hitting people.
"And if you're holding the team to four field goals and just two touchdowns, our offense has to score points. And when you're three and out, three and out, three and out, three and out, three and out, we're not really doing anything to help our young defense who's adjusting and trying to figure out the way that they want to play football. So, I think this is really on the offense, and I was really proud of how our defense played today."
It's hard to argue that. San Francisco's offense faced a tough task in a good Texans defense, yes. But the failure to sustain drives ultimately proved to be the 49ers' undoing.
Kittle knows it and admitted it.
Hat tip toDavid Bonilla of 49ers Webzone for the transcription.