Kittle, Shanahan enjoyed Wagner’s vicious hit on protestor originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The best hit during the 49ers’ 24-9 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night didn’t happen during game action.
Late in the first half, a protester ran onto the field at Levi’s Stadium with a lit flare spewing pink smoke. As stadium security chased after the man, Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner stepped off the Los Angeles sideline and crushed the intruder, allowing security to take him into custody.
“I saw Bobby Wagner take somebody out,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game. “I thought it was kind of cool to see.”
The incident happened so fast that tight end George Kittle wasn’t sure what was happening. But if that same situation happened in front of the 49ers’ bench, Kittle believes he would have tried to do the same thing as Wagner.
“Oh I wish,” Kittle told reporters postgame in the locker room. “I didn’t even see him. He just went right past us and everyone started making noises like ‘Is there a streaker?’ No. Cloud of pink smoke. So thankfully it was just pink smoke.”
While stadium security was able to apprehend the protester, Kittle revealed that it didn’t come without an injury.
“That was awesome,” Kittle said. “That was a great hit. I was so confused. I feel really bad. My guy Mike Anderson popped his hammy. He’s the king of kings. He’s the guy who secures this entire team. Went out there. Didn’t do well. Got to get him warmed up next time.”
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Wagner finished the game with a team-high 10 total tackles — not including his takedown of the protester, which Shanahan and Kittle were actually happy to see.