San Francisco 49ers: Breaking down the 20 biggest moments of the decade

No. 12: George Kittle breaks records in his second year

It’s not a secret George Kittle is one of the best guys you can find both on and off a football field, but even he raised eyebrows when he broke records in only his second season, despite the carousel that was the 49ers quarterback situation in 2018.

In the team’s final game of the season against the Los Angeles Rams, the interest was less on the final score (which we conveniently forget for this game) and if Kittle could break the record for the most receiving yards by a tight end.

The record had previously belonged to former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, but the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce had beaten the record to set the target at 1,336 yards earlier that day.

That record lasted for an hour.

Kittle broke the record in the best possible way. Requiring only two yards to tie the record, he caught a pass late in the fourth quarter and took it for a touchdown to easily break the record for the second time that day:

In only his second year, with a variety of quarterbacks whom he all had some chemistry with, Kittle put his name into the record books.