San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle wants everyone to know that momentum is real in the NFL.
Kittle briefly discussed his take on football analytics after the 49ers’ 34—31 NFC title win over the visiting Detroit Lions, a game in which Lions coach Dan Campbell was questioned for attempting multiple fourth-down conversions rather than trying to kick a field goal.
“Why do analytics people say that momentum isn’t a real thing?” Kittle said in a postgame interview on Sunday. “I had that conversation with [ESPN host] Pat McAfee. He was asking me, ‘All these people are telling me that momentum’s not real.’ And that’s just the biggest load of horse crap I’ve heard of in my entire life.”
George Kittle says he doesn't know why some football analysts don't believe in momentum, then describes how the Levi's crowd helped shift momentum in the 2nd half pic.twitter.com/sHmU1IkIQY
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 29, 2024
The five-time Pro Bowler described the home crowd’s role in the 49ers’ tremendous momentum swing in the second half, saying that the fans at Levi’s Stadium “did a fantastic job.”
“For some reason, playoffs at Levi’s, it feels like there’s crowd noise being pumped in. It’s not—our fan base is just phenomenal,” Kittle said. “We had a good opening drive out of the second half, and that fourth down stop, you could just kind of feel an energy. We go down and score. ‘All right, this is huge.’ Turnover, I was like, ‘Ah man, all bets are off now.’ Bang bang.”
Niners fans at NFC championship game will fondly remember Journey performing the hit song Don’t Stop Believin’ at halftime, perhaps foretelling San Francisco’s unanswered 17-point surge in the third quarter.
While Campbell could be criticized for his two critical failed fourth-down attempts in field-goal range, other Lions miscues (such as Jahmyr Gibbs’s fumble and Josh Reynolds’s multiple drops) proved just as—if not more—costly and helped the 49ers gain steam en route to their historic comeback victory.
The 49ers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11.
