Even with the Detroit Lions firmly in control for the first 30 minutes, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle didn’t panic in the slightest.

The 49ers were at their mercy, trailing 24-7 to Dan Campbell’s Lions at halftime in the NFC Championship Game. With Detroit dominating on both sides of the ball, it felt like the 49ers were poised to suffer a third straight loss in the NFC title game.

 

But the 17-point deficit did not scare Kittle one bit, and we have video evidence to prove it.

“Inside the NFL” cameras caught a mic’d up Kittle telling Brock Purdy and other teammates, “I can’t wait till after the game, and I get to say ‘You know what, they had us in the first half’”.

Kittle then told Purdy to “have fun” and to “encourage” the others. Let’s just say that the message was received loud and clear by Kittle’s teammates.

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The 49ers rallied to put up 27 unanswered points, with the Lions finally responding on a late Jared Goff touchdown pass to Jameson Williams with 56 seconds remaining. But it was too little too late for the Lions, who failed to recover the ensuing onside kick.

Kittle held his promise and used the beloved “Had us in the first half” line during the George Halas Trophy presentation on stage. And with that, the 49ers are back in the Super Bowl for the first time in four years — where they’ll meet Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.