Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Here are three areas to watch in Saturday’s contest, plus some noteworthy stats on both teams:
Key in on Kittle | By @Eric_L_Smith
The Vikings will go up against one of the best players at his position across the league on Satuday.
49ers tight end George Kittle — a First-Team All-Pro in 2019 — is one of Jimmy Garoppolo’s top targets. Kittle had 85 catches for 1,053 yards and five scores this season.
According to Sharp Football Stats, Garoppolo targeted Kittle 107 times in 2019, which was the highest number of target attempts for a tight end. The duo connected on 79 percent of those targets, with 53 of Kittle’s 85 catches going for a first down. Garoppolo’s passer rating when looking for Kittle was 119.4.
Plus, Kittle is one of the NFL’s top blocking tight ends.
“He’s an awesome player. He’s really active in everything,” said Vikings safety Harrison Smith. “Run game — a great blocker and will block any type of player from a big guy on down.
“And in the pass game, not only does he run really good routes and is fast and athletic, but once he gets the ball, he has a great run-after-the-catch ability,” Smith added. “He’s tough.”
Added Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer: “He’s obviously a great pass catcher, but his run after catch is really good. He catches screens, he catches option routes, and he’s a really good blocker, too. And they’ll use him on rockets and things like that. He does definitely affect the game, the way that it goes, and we’ll have to do a good job on him.”
Thanks to the play of All-Pro Eric Kendricks, who is often tasked with covering tight ends, the Vikings defense allowed just one receiving touchdown to a tight end in 2019.