2 brutal gaffes vs. Seahawks proved how much 49ers truly missed George Kittle

Having All-Pro tight end George Kittle healthy might not have been the key difference in what ultimately turned into the San Francisco 49ers' disastrous 41-6 divisional-round loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

But Kittle's presence certainly would have made it a much more entertaining (and close) game.

Kittle, whose ruptured Achilles in the Wild Card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles wouldn't have happened if the Niners beat the Hawks in Week 18, isn't going to see the field for a long, long time.

And his absence was fully felt by an inept San Francisco offense at Lumen Field on Saturday night.

This was the case on the 49ers' opening possession, which resulted in a fumble by No. 2 tight end Jake Tonges, who had admirably stepped up in Kittle's previous absence earlier on the year because of a hamstring injury.

But Tonges' lost ball, recovered by Seattle, resulted in yet another touchdown for the Niners' opponents, which aided in head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad falling behind 17-0 before the first quarter was even over.

That was probably the dagger, honestly. Yet it wasn't the only play on which Kittle was sorely missed.

49ers backup TEs commit gaffes that George Kittle wouldn't

Tonges ultimately led all San Francisco pass catchers with XX yards, but it's hard to look at those efforts as a positive to overcome his crushing fumble.

Late in the third quarter, though, quarterback Brock Purdy attempted to hit blocking tight end Luke Farrell.

It turned out to be a bad idea, made worse by what appeared to be Farrell not making much of an effort on the contested catch, ultimately picked off by linebacker Ernest Jones:

That single play won't earn Farrell many fans.

Of course, the game was pretty much decided by that point, and the 49ers had almost zero chance to come back against such a deficit against an elite Hawks defense.

But one can only wonder if things would have been a bit cleaner and closer if Kittle hadn't suffered his injury the week prior.

His presence certainly would have made things more interesting.