What 49ers said about facing Chiefs in Super Bowl: ‘They’re special. They’re winners’

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle made a promise to himself four years ago, and he’s making good on it.

NFL Films’ video of the Chiefs’ 31-21 win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV included Kittle on the sideline saying he would return one day.

“I will be back here. I will be back here,” Kittle repeated. “And I will be back with a vengeance.”

Following the 49ers’ 34-31 win over the Lions in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, Kittle was asked about that moment and what he thought about facing the Chiefs again.

“Nothing really. That was 2019, a little while ago,” Kittle said, per a Yardbarker transcript. “They were a very different football team. A lot of the same great football players. They’ve got defensive tackle Chris Jones, tight end Travis Kelce, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. They’re still really good. They’ve got their core guys as well. I’ll worry about the game plan when the time comes.”

Here is what other 49ers were saying about facing the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, via that transcript and 49ers Webzone.

Quarterback Brock Purdy

“What a challenge. You’ve got Mahomes, what he does, their team, they’re special. They’re winners,” Purdy said. “They’ve proven that over however many years he’s been there. For us to go back and play them is going to be sweet, going to be special for all of us. I wasn’t here obviously in ‘19. You could just tell the guys that have been here, like, anybody, it would be special for them to play these guys. I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Running back Christian McCaffrey

“That’s obviously a great team, great defense, guys that fly around,” McCaffrey said. “I haven’t watched, obviously, any (film) yet, but it’ll be a big challenge on a big stage, and we’re excited about it.”

Defensive end Nick Bosa

“It’s perfect. And they’re as great as an organization, coach, quarterback as there is,” Bosa said. “And they were down, not looking great this year either, and they’re playing their best ball now, so it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Tackle Trent Williams

“I’m ecstatic,” Williams said. “Words can’t describe how I feel right now. You enjoy it, but you know that we’ve got a huge game coming up. Kansas City just went in there and beat a really, really good Baltimore team, and it wasn’t even particularly close if you watched the game. So, those guys are rolling right now. I think they definitely had a really tough go to get to the Super Bowl, and they beat some really good teams. They’re playing their best ball right now.”

“Like I said, we will soon shift focus to Kansas City, and it may take two weeks of game planning just to see how we can corral (Mahomes) and keep guys like Chris Jones over there — they’ve got some really talented players on defense, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Head coach Kyle Shanahan

“Haven’t had a lot of time to think about that. I didn’t watch any of their game,” Shanahan said. “Wasn’t sure who won until someone told me right before we went out. But, I mean, they’re a hell of a team. Got a hell of a coach, hell of a quarterback, hell of a defense. Haven’t gotten to see them much this year because we haven’t had a lot of crossover tape.

“We already have a pretty good idea how it’s going to look. They’ve been doing it a while. Since we met them in ‘19, seems like they’ve been there every year since. We have been trying really hard to get back to this moment. We have been close a number of times. This time we got it done. Spend these two weeks to prepare and make sure it’s a hell of a game.”