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Now We Go: Can We Thread a Needle With Kittle?

George Kittle and Brock Purdy appear to have quite the connection.

Since the rookie San Francisco 49ers quarterback took over under centre, Kittle has caught seven touchdowns in six games.

Before this year, Kittle hadn’t caught more than six touchdowns in an entire season.

However, taking on the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round could take Kittle out of the passing game a bit more than expected, so let’s try to thread a needle and cash a Same Game Parlay on Sunday Night Football.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys Same Game Parlay +495

George Kittle Under 46.5 Yards

George Kittle Anytime Touchdown

I like Kittle to go under his number for a few reasons.

The first is that he’s gone under this number in three straight games and in four of Purdy’s starts.

It makes sense that Kittle can get lost in this pass game. The addition of Christian McCafferty to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk meant there was always going to be fewer pieces of the pie for someone like Kittle, who can impact the game in a major way outside of catching passes.

With Micah Parsons, 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, on the other side of the ball, I expect the 49ers to utilize Kittle as a blocker and as a way to slow down Parsons as the game winds on.

Speaking of the Cowboys, Dallas’ defence against tight ends is interesting. While they are just one of seven teams this season to hold tight ends to under 40 yards per game, they sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to receptions.

They do a good job of containing tight ends and not letting them rack up yards after the catch, something Kittle is strong at.

It’ll be interesting to see who gets the better of the matchup. San Francisco has enough playmakers that I don’t think they’ll need to lean on Kittle in big third-down spots.

Add all that together and you have all the reasons why I like Kittle to go under his number.

However.

When it comes time to score touchdowns, Kittle is the guy.

Touchdowns in four straight games to end the regular season, and last week he found the back of the end zone. It was just on the receiving end of a two-point conversion.

We just mentioned Dallas gives up more receptions than you’d think to tight ends, and despite giving up just two touchdowns all season to the position, I like Kittle to make it three on Sunday.

That two-point conversion was dialed up for him, Kittle was isolated on one side of the field with a one-on-one mismatch.

Let’s hope we get the same look this week, and it’s for six.