Studs, duds from 49ers’ NFC West-winning victory vs. Seahawks

There were a few more duds from the 49ers’ Week 15 win over the Seahawks than the domination of the Buccaneers the week prior.

The San Francisco 49ers’ 21-13 Thursday Night Football victory over the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t quite as dominant as the Niners’ Week 14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad routed the Bucs 35-7.

However, given the travel and the short week, San Francisco will take the victory no matter what.

That win also clinched the NFC West, and the strongest likelihood is the 49ers will hold onto no worse than the No. 3 seed in the conference playoff picture, which is another added bonus of b being a division winner.

The Niners’ Week 14 win over Tampa Bay was so dominant that there were no duds from our perspective. While Week 15 was convincing enough, we have to call out a few duds from the NFC West contest, unfortunately.

Although there are still far more studs from the win, and that’s a good thing.

49ers stud: Tight end George Kittle

Tight end George Kittle had scantly been a factor on offense, at least as far as the stat sheet, over the last four weeks. And it’s fair to wonder if he’s now dropped to being the third (or even fourth) best option behind pass-catching teammates like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and even Christian McCaffrey.

With Samuel out because of knee and ankle injuries, Kittle took advantage by recording four receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns, both of them breakaway plays where he was wide open.

Including this 54-yard score that turned out to be the longest touchdown scored by a tight end yet this season:

While Kittle’s overall numbers may have taken a notable hit this year, it’s important to know he’s still more than capable of delivering this kind of performance at any moment.

San Francisco will need that heading into the postseason.