San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle said he struggles watching from the sideline when sidelined by injury.
Kittle has missed time with an ankle injury but is expected to return for Saturday night’s high-stakes showdown against the Seattle Seahawks (13-3), with the NFC’s No. 1 seed on the line.
In his most recent appearance for the 49ers (12-4), Kittle delivered his best performance of the season, catching seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.
San Francisco followed that effort by edging the Chicago Bears (11-5) in a thriller last Sunday night without him.
George Kittle looks forward to the ‘atmosphere’ in Seattle
Now 32, Kittle said he always looks forward to the annual trip to Seattle to play at Lumen Field and embraces the intensity of the rivalry.
"Seattle’s like one of my favorite stadiums because they hate us and it’s always twice as loud as any other stadium," Kittle said. "It’s such a great atmosphere. I love their hatred for us and hopefully the faithful will bring it this weekend for them. I’ve had a lot of good memories there.
"Winning on Thanksgiving was pretty fun there. Running off the field with a full turkey, throwing into the crowd was pretty entertaining. My very first game ever there we lost, but I played against Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. Which is pretty sick. (Chancellor) had a chance to rip my head off and he didn’t do it, so I was pretty thankful."