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George Kittle and Travis Kelce look to make Super Bowl history

By Russell S. Baxter

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 27: San Francisco 49ers Tight End George Kittle (85) and Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce (87) take a selfie during Super Bowl LIV Opening Night at Marlins Park on January 27, 2020 at Marlins Park in Miami, FL. (Photo by Rich Graessle/PPI/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 27: San Francisco 49ers Tight End George Kittle (85) and Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce (87) take a selfie during Super Bowl LIV Opening Night at Marlins Park on January 27, 2020 at Marlins Park in Miami, FL. (Photo by Rich Graessle/PPI/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Two of the NFL’s best performers when it comes to their jobs will be on the field Sunday as George Kittle’s 49ers square off against Travis Kelce’s Chiefs.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press released the 2019 NFL All-Pro team. When it came to the tight end position, only two players received the combined 50 votes.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers: 33

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs: 17

That’s it. And on Super Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida, the pair of star performers will be representing their teams as each vies for a Lombardi Trophy. One or both could have a huge impact in this contests, especially if both performs as expected.

Kittle led Kyle Shanahan’s club with 85 receptions, good for 1,053 and five scores. Kelce hauled in 97 passed for 1,229 yards and also reached the end zone five times. He added 13 receptions for 164 yards and three TDs in the postseason sweep of the Texans and Titans. As for Kittle, there were just four grabs for 35 yards vs. the Vikings and Packers in the playoffs. But he also played a big role in the team’s ground attack in those playoff victories.

How about a little history? There have been a total of 53 Super Bowls to date and the quarterback has been named the game’s Most Valuable Player in more than half of those games (29). A year ago, New England Patriots’ pass-catcher Julian Edelman earned the honors in Super Bowl LIII. That means there have been just as many wide receivers (7) as running backs (7) get the nod when it comes to the award.

There have been four linebackers, three defensive backs and one kick returner. And one two occasions, the defensive line got the nod. That includes co-MVPs Randy White and Harvey Martin for the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII and Chicago Bears’ defensive end Richard Dent in Super Bowl XX.

So 53 times the award has been handed out (counting White and Martin as one recipient). There’s been no punter or kicker earn those honors.

And no tight end. Hmmm…

So in what figures to be a fairly high-scoring affair this Sunday (the over/under is 53.5), could there be an offensive explosion by one or both teams? And will San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes be looking at each of their top pass-catchers early and often this weekend?

For the record, the Super Bowl high for most receptions in a game is owned by Patriots’ running back James White. He hauled in 14 of Tom Brady’s tosses in the overtime win over the Falcons in LI. And the mark for most catches by a tight end in a Super Bowl belongs to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Dan Ross with 11 grabs vs. the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.

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So will Kittle or Kelce be the difference in Super Bowl LIV? Both figure to play huge roles on Sunday. But is this the year a tight end finally takes home the hardware when it comes to the game’s top player?

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