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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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The San Francisco 49ers took down the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles with a 23-19 final score in the wild card round on Sunday night.
Unfortunately for the 49ers, this victory came with a devastating injury for San Francisco tight end George Kittle.
Kittle was carted to the locker room at Lincoln Financial Field after suffering a lower-leg injury in the second quarter. The superstar TE was later diagnosed with a torn Achilles, which will keep him off the field for the remainder of the playoffs and much (if not all) of the 2026 NFL season.
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This injury is a major blow for the 49ers, who rely on Kittle as a strong locker room presence, team leader and key contributor for the offense.
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Kittle's wife, Claire, took to social media with an emotional reaction to his injury on Tuesday.
"Disbelief and stillness were all I felt as I yelled, get up, get up, over and over again. He always gets up. He’s George — he can do all things. He just does it. It hurts. There’s no preparing for it," she wrote on Instagram. "I love this man with everything I have in me. He is a unicorn in this world, and he will be back stronger and better than ever before.
"The mind of a heartbroken athlete is a determined one. He is [expletive], as is this entire team. I’m proud of these guys and the rally-together grit they fight with each week. It’s a special year, you can feel that and we’re not done yet. Thank you for loving G and carrying some of this pain for us."
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"You’re the best teammate for this journey," Kittle replied to his wife in the comment section.
Without Kittle, the 49ers now turn their attention toward a divisional round matchup against the No. 1 seed, division-rival Seattle Seahawks.
That highly anticipated playoff matchup will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
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