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George Kittle loves and hates expanded playoffs

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49ers' tight end George Kittle joins Mike Florio to discuss how he's adjusting to the time off, what he's looking to improve upon going into the new season and more.

Expended playoffs are coming to the NFL. Like it or not.

49ers tight end George Kittle likes it, and not.

“I love it and I hate it at the same time,” Kittle told #PFTPM on Friday, as transcribed by 49ersWebzone.com. “I like games. I love the playoffs. The playoffs are some of the most exciting times in sports. That bye week for the [number] two seed is huge. I’m all for bye weeks. I like bye weeks.”

Kittle’s team barely earned a bye week in 2019, thanks to the defense’s ability to stave off the Seahawks at the conclusion of the last game of the regular season. That gave the 49ers the No. 1 seed, which moving forward will be the only team in each conference to get a bye.

Next year and in every other year until the NFL expands the playoffs to 16 teams, that’s the way it will be for the NFL. Which will give Kittle the extra playoff games he loves to watch -- but which also won’t give his team a bye, if it’s anything other than the top seed.