George Kittle has perfect response to Mike Zimmer complaining about 49ers

George Kittle had a simple response to Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, who complained about the 49ers holding on every play during the Niners’ Week 12 win.

For the third week in a row, the San Francisco 49ers used their stout rushing offense to beat an opponent, this time engineering 39 run plays in a crucial Week 12 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Running the ball a lot, especially in an offense as complex as that of the Niners, can generate a lot of holding penalties, though, and that’s certainly what Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer thought after watching his team surrender 208 rush yards en route to San Francisco’s 34-26 win at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

And there were plenty of moments where Minnesota thought the 49ers defense was holding, too, even on the Vikings’ last desperate offensive plays before the game ended.

When asked about the calls, Zimmer’s response was pretty straightforward and blunt:

“These guys hold every play,” Zimmer told reporters of the Niners. “They don’t want to call it every play. Until they start calling it every play, they’re not going to stop doing it.”

For what it’s worth, San Francisco was flagged five times for 57 yards, and three of those were for holding, twice on offense and another time on the defensive side of the ball.

Minnesota was also penalized five times for 38 yards.

George Kittle delivers the perfect response to Mike Zimmer

49ers tight end George Kittle wasn’t necessarily an active part of the offensive game plan, at least not on the stat sheet as he had just one catch for 13 yards.

But as the most complete tight end in the NFL today, he knows a thing or two about holding calls and delivered an epic response to Zimmer’s shade when reporters asked the All-Pro about it:

https://twitter.com/49ersfangirl/status/1465129297014759428

“It’s football,” Kittle responded to the accusations. “Refs throw a flag, refs don’t throw a flag. It’s just the game. But if you’re going to sit on the sideline and complain about holding the entire time, tell your guys to make better plays.”

Burn.

Zimmer going after the officials and throwing some shade at the Niners won’t alleviate the fact his squad just dropped behind San Francisco in the NFC playoff picture, now at the No. 7 seed with the 49ers moving ahead to No. 6.

And, generally speaking, criticizing the lack of calls won’t help matters much for Minnesota either.

Meanwhile, Kittle and the Niners can take pride in knowing they’ve won three in a row and are right back in the thick of the playoff race.

The tight end’s response to Zimmer is pretty epic, too.