Deebo, Kittle honestly reveals which NFC team is the best now originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers have dominated the NFC for years, with four conference championships and two trips to the Super Bowl in the past five seasons.
But the team’s biggest stars can recognize greatness when they see it, even if it’s somewhere else.
When asked if the Detroit Lions, who have a 4-1 record heading into Week 7, are the best team in the NFC, 49ers tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel shared an honest answer.
“I think they’re playing the best,” Kittle said while appearing on this week’s episode of Bleacher Report’s “Cleats & Convos with Deebo Samuel.” “So yeah, at this point it seems like it.”
“I’m with George,” Samuel agreed.
Detroit is the only NFC team with one loss this season, just behind the first-place Minnesota Vikings (5-0) in the loaded NFC North.
But both Kittle and Samuel know what it’s like to be part of a team full of momentum and early success, and how that can change in an instant.
“The funny thing is that football in December is very different than it is [in October.] It’s a long season,” Kittle said. “So if they can continue to play at that level for the rest of the season, thank goodness. Take care, everyone. We have experienced it before. You may be playing at a very high level and then out of nowhere lose an important player. [Lions defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson, how awful. Devastating. And he led the league in sacks and played at a high level. When you lose a guy like that, you know, that’s what happens.
“But you don’t just lose him on the field. I’m pretty sure he’s a team captain. He’s in the locker room every day. He’s on the defensive line every day. You lose his presence in the locker room.” He’ll be back in the building, it’s just different. So when you have an injury like that, it becomes difficult for their stars. They still have it. But when you lose such an important part, it’s just different.”
“I think Detroit is good enough and they have enough players to balance it out, but we’ll see how that happens.”
Hutchinson, Detroit’s top defensive player and candidate for the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, suffered a gruesome leg injury last week in a sack of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. He underwent successful surgery to repair a broken tibia and fibula and is expected to make a full recovery, but there is currently no timeline for his return.
But with or without Detroit’s star defenseman, Samuel and Kittle believe the Lions have what it takes to avenge last season’s NFC Championship Game collapse against the 49ers.
And while there’s still plenty of football to be played, the 49ers’ top dogs like what they see in The Motor City so far.
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