© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
There’s no award necessary to prove that George Kittle is a clutch player. He’s proven himself to be reliable in key moments time and time again. (See: below).
KITTLE gets 39 yards on the beast mode and the flag refusing to go down 28 sec on the clock buts team in position to win WOW 45-46 #SFvsNO #49ers #GoNiners #Saints #SaintsGameDay #NFL100 #SportsTalkLine pic.twitter.com/YbAd8sqdr8
— ?Steven Van Over (@StevenVanOver) December 8, 2019
But in an effort to value, in a sort of empirical way, players who consistently performed well in key situations, Pro Football Focus announced the All-Clutch team to reward, “the players who graded the best in the fourth quarter and overtime of one-score games (within eight points).”
At the tight end position, Kittle was the most clutch, with Jonnu Smith of the Titans ranked second. From PFF:
“Nothing changed for Kittle when things were tight late in the game. He was still the best player at the tight end position after the catch (position-high 113 yards after the catch and 8.7 yards after the catch per reception) and a nuisance to bring down in the open field (four missed tackles forced). As good as he was as a receiver, Kittle was equally as effective as a blocker in the run game. His run-blocking grade in the fourth quarter and overtime of one-score games ranked second at the position among qualifiers — a throwback when it comes to a tight end position that has shifted more towards big slot receivers in recent years.”