George Kittle's long TD against the Broncos proves he's back to old form for the 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — With the San Francisco 49ers protecting a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter, George Kittle caught a pass 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage against a blitz and saw only open territory ahead.

Kittle outran former teammate Talanoa Hufanga on the way to the 56-yard touchdown that sealed San Francisco's 24-14 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday and silenced any doubters who questioned how he would perform coming off major Achilles tendon surgery in January.

“Any time you see green grass, I think I ran the entire time with a smile on my face,” said Kittle, who’ll turn 33 on Friday. “Always outrunning younger, old teammates is always a good time, especially when they’re (27).”

Kittle is defying the odds early this season with an impressive return from the Achilles tendon injury that knocked him out of San Francisco's wild-card win against Philadelphia on Jan. 11.

He attacked the rehabilitation with the same zeal he does with everything on the football field and is a big reason why the Niners are off to a 4-0 start this season.

“You can talk about being tough all you want,” teammate Christian McCaffrey said. “You can call him tough. But I think football gives you a unique opportunity to really show it. That’s what he’s doing. To do what he did all offseason, to grind every single day nonstop, it’s showing. I’d love to say I’m shocked, but I’m not. That’s just who he is. He attacks everything full speed, always has the best attitude. So it’s no shock that George Kittle’s playing like George Kittle.”

Kittle set the goal of returning in time for the season opener and did just that, getting back on the field in Week 1 in Australia for a win against the Rams.

He caught just two passes for 12 yards that game but has been one of the most productive tight ends in the league since then. His 232 yards receiving and four touchdowns lead all players at the position the past three weeks.

“I think the biggest part was the acceleration was getting that back,” Kittle said. “I really, really felt that starting Week 2 and on. In Australia, I felt totally weird. But Week 2 and on, I had so much confidence in it and haven’t looked back since.”

He's back to playing at the level he had when reaching seven Pro Bowls and earning two All-Pro honors in his first nine seasons and was even clocked at 19.84 mph, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats, on his long touchdown that was his second longest in the past seven seasons.

“I forgot about his Achilles in Australia,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Just how he looked, moving and stuff. We thought about it because it was his first time back and we were trying to be smart with him just early on. But just in terms of how he’s looked, he’s been unbelievable since Australia.”

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San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, middle right, is congratulated by wide receiver Jordan Watkins, left, tight end Brayden Willis (9) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. after scoring against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

Fan react as San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates after scoring against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) runs past Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen to score during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Samoa’s Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt apologized Monday for a video from 19 years earlier in which he said “Heil Hitler” and made a Nazi gesture during what he described as a family gathering.

His statement published on the government's Facebook page came a day after the Samoa Observer newspaper made public for the first time the existence and content of a seven-second clip that the outlet said was filmed at a Schmidt family reunion in Samoa in July 2007.

In a screenshot from the video, Schmidt holds a microphone in one hand with the other arm lifted, surrounded by others making the same gesture.

The newspaper reported Schmidt was heard saying into the microphone, “Raise your right hand, Heil Hitler!”

Schmidt, who was the deputy speaker of Samoa's Parliament in 2007, didn't dispute the report. He has led the South Pacific island nation of 220,000 people since winning an August 2025 election.

“I recognise that those words and gesture were inappropriate and capable of causing offence and hurt and I apologise for using them,” he said Monday. He added that the video was filmed “at a private family gathering — not intended for the public.”

He rejected “Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism,” the statement said.

What happened immediately before and after the moment depicted was unknown, the newspaper said, and Schmidt's statement didn't explain further.

The episode unfolded as Pacific media groups decried Schmidt's ongoing rancor against the Observer, which has been barred from covering his and other government news conferences and events since November, when Schmidt accused the newspaper of misleading coverage.

On Friday, Schmidt confirmed claims that an Observer reporter's photos of him, taken in front of government buildings during an official event, were deleted from their camera by an aide. He defended the move, saying the Observer, Samoa's largest newspaper group, was flouting its prohibition.

The Observer has called his ban “authoritarian.” Pacific media groups have called on the prime minister for a reversal, with the Journalists Association of Samoa saying it was “deeply disturbed” by the photo deletion incident.

Like a number of other leaders of small island nations in the South Pacific Ocean, Schmidt has voiced vehement support for Israel before.

Since September 2023, three Pacific islands, not including Samoa, have been among a handful of countries to follow the United States in opening embassies in the contested city of Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv, where most diplomatic missions are located.

Analysts attribute support for Israel in the region to deep Christian traditions woven throughout public life. When Schmidt was sworn into office in September 2025, he wore a Jewish prayer shawl during a ceremony that included the blowing of a shofar.

“Samoa will not withdraw from supporting Israel as the country of God’s people,” he told reporters after the event, according to local news outlets.

Samoa’s Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt speaks during the launch of the Pacific Rugby league partnership in Brisbane, Australia on July 8, 2026. (Jason O'Brien/AAP Image via AP)