George Kittle is getting roasted for huge Super Bowl mistake

The San Francisco 49ers lost their third straight Super Bowl and their second straight to the Kansas City Chiefs. As Niners fans look back on the game and debate the reasons why San Francisco ultimately lost Super Bowl 58, a key moment on the first drive of the game went unnoticed.

The Niners were moving the ball with ease on their first drive of the game when running back Christian McCaffrey fumbled the football on Kansas City's 29-yard-line. KC edge George Karlaftis recovered the fumble, and while the Chiefs went 3-and-out on their ensuing drive, a video emerged later of tight end George Kittle engaging with Karlaftis while blocking him.

Seconds later, Karlaftis dove on the loose football, and the Chiefs recovered.

Now, it's worth noting that there were other Niners in the vicinity who could have landed on the football, but this isn't a great look for Kittle. His casual "Hey George" to Karlaftis distracted the tight end enough to where he didn't see the ball pop out. He had a chance to recover the football (or at least could have helped Trent Williams recover it) and make sure his team maintained possession.

George Kittle with a rough look in Super Bowl 58

There, of course, were other times the ball didn't bounce in San Francisco's way in this game, so in no way am I saying that Kittle is at fault for the loss. The Niners were moving on this first drive, however, so had San Francisco scored on this drive, with how rough the Chiefs offense looked up until the end of the game, it feels like it would have been an entirely different outcome.

That's the "joy" of sports, though. Sometimes the ball bounces your way and you win, sometimes it doesn't and you lose. 49ers fans know this feeling all too well in recent years, unfortunately.

Here are some of the comments on that Reddit thread:

• "From a casual hey george to colliding heads with Trent Williams in like 0.8 seconds"
• "Got distracted by another George K. and couldn’t keep his eyes on the prize."
• "It’s the f**king Super Bowl bro, what are we doing lmao"
• "Play to the whistle."
• "Lmao this is hilarious. Kittle normally talks to guys on the field casually and it’s produced some good moments but none more entertaining than this. I bet he plays till the whistle the rest of his career."
• "If he didnt say hey george no one would care, that's how literally 99% of all blocks end, with both dudes letting up even before the whistle goes. I feel like this stuff happens every week, but it's the SB so it gets magnified. There's almost 0% chance he could have recovered the fumble, mayyyyybe if he held his block longer trent would have recovered."
• "Karlaftis is literally the only Chief able to recover. This might be the worst play of the game for the 9ers. Hilarious"

Read more from Niner Noise