It looks like Josh Allen is going to run away with the NFL MVP award (which might be unfair to two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who is playing so well that he also deserves consideration), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more players who deserve a little attention as the season comes to a close.

The Week 16 NFL Power Rankings will give it to them by recognizing a team MVP for all 32 clubs. We tried not to make it just a bunch of quarterbacks, but we acknowledge there ended up being a lot of quarterbacks.

Last week: 2

Sunday: Beat Pittsburgh Steelers 27-13

MVP: Running back Saquon Barkley

While wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts squabble (seemingly squashed for now), Barkley just keeps carrying the Eagles. He was held to 65 yards by the Steelers on Sunday, but he still has a league-leading 1,688 this season. If he averages 140 yards in the final three games, he will break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 set in 1984. Barkley’s offensive rushing expected points added per game (3.36) is the second best in the league since at least 2000, according to TruMedia.

Up next: at Washington Commanders, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Last week: 5

Sunday: Beat Detroit Lions 48-42

MVP: Quarterback Josh Allen

In the last two weeks, Allen has 704 passing yards and five passing touchdowns, plus 150 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Buffalo has scored 90 points in those games. Allen’s 36 combined touchdowns are second in the league behind Lamar Jackson’s and Joe Burrow’s 37. Against the Rams in Week 14, he had more fantasy points than any player in NFL history (51.88). Every Buffalo opponent worries he will have that type of game against them, which is why he will also be the league MVP.

Up next: vs. New England Patriots, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

KEON IS SO BACK.

📺: @paramountplus & @NFLonCBS#ProBowlVote | @keoncoleman6 pic.twitter.com/0d8KkW84TS

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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 15, 2024

3. Detroit Lions (12-2)

Last week: 1

Sunday: Lost to Buffalo Bills 48-42

MVP: Quarterback Jared Goff

It’s time to stop talking about Goff as an underdog story, or least exclusively an underdog story. This year, he’s one of the league’s best quarterbacks. Period. Goff is second in EPA per dropback at .26, which is easily the best mark of his career. Maybe more impressively, he’s second in completion percentage (71.4) and third in yards per attempt (8.5). Those numbers shouldn’t go together. He passed for 494 yards and five touchdowns Sunday.

Up next: at Chicago Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

NFL Panic Meter: How worried should Lions, Chiefs and Steelers be? Sando’s Pick Six

Last week: 4

Sunday: Beat Seattle Seahawks 30-13

MVP: Running back Josh Jacobs

Quarterback Jordan Love is having a good year, but he’s also tied for sixth in the league with 11 interceptions. The Packers wide receivers share the wealth so well that none stand out. Meanwhile, Jacobs is third in the league in rushing (1,147 yards along with 12 touchdowns) and is the tone-setter for this team. On Sunday, Green Bay opened with a 10-play touchdown drive. Jacobs had seven carries and two catches on the drive.

Up next: vs. New Orleans Saints, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Last week: 3

Monday: Beat Chicago Bears 30-12

MVP: Wide receiver Justin Jefferson

Sorry, Sam Darnold, we’re going with the more proven commodity here. Jefferson is second in the league in receiving with 1,243 yards. He has topped 1,000 yards every season of his career and has a good chance to get past 1,500 for the third time in five seasons. This is why the Vikings gave him $110 million in guaranteed money in a four-year extension this summer.

Up next: at Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

Last week: 6

Sunday: Beat Cleveland Browns 21-7

MVP: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes

From 2018 to 2022, Mahomes led the NFL in EPA per dropback (.25). This year, he’s 12th (.09) and his passer rating (91) is the lowest in his tenure as a starter. And, still, he’s dragging a team without many other high octane offensive weapons toward a Super Bowl three-peat. Mahomes left Sunday’s win with a mild high ankle sprain and did not return, but coach Andy Reid said afterward that Mahomes could have re-entered and should be considered “day to day.”

Up next: vs. Houston Texans, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Will Patrick Mahomes miss time? That’s the big question after Chiefs improve to 13-1

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4)

Last week: 7

Sunday: Lost to Philadelphia Eagles 27-13

MVP: Outside linebacker T.J. Watt

Watt left Sunday’s game after turning his ankle. Pittsburgh had better hope it’s not serious. The Steelers are 1-11 (including the playoffs) without him in the lineup since he was drafted in 2017. Watt had two sacks before leaving Sunday, and he’s now tied for third in the league with 11 1/2. In his time in the league, no one has had more than his 108 sacks.

Up next: at Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET

Lamar Jackson is not only the Ravens’ most valuable player, but also in the running for his third NFL MVP award. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)

8. Baltimore Ravens (9-5)

Last week: 8

Sunday: Beat New York Giants 35-14

MVP: Quarterback Lamar Jackson

The one-time 2024 MVP front-runner is playing as well as he did in 2019, his first MVP season, and better than he did last year, his second MVP season. Jackson leads the league in EPA per dropback (.33) and passer rating (120.7). On top of that, he’s averaging 53 rushing yards per game, the most among quarterbacks. On Sunday, he threw five touchdown passes, had a 154.6 passer rating and rushed for 65 yards.

Up next: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET

Last week: 10

Sunday: Beat Indianapolis Colts 31-13

MVP: Quarterback Bo Nix

Denver’s rookie quarterback threw three interceptions Sunday, but he also threw three touchdown passes, including two in the fourth quarter. Since Week 11, Nix is 11th in EPA per dropback (.13) and has thrown twice as many touchdown passes as interceptions (10-5). The Broncos have won four straight in that stretch and essentially clinched a playoff spot on Sunday.

Up next: at Los Angeles Chargers, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Last week: 11

Sunday: Beat New Orleans Saints 20-19

MVP: Quarterback Jayden Daniels

Denver’s Nix is giving Daniels some late-season competition for offensive rookie of the year, but no rookie has been anywhere near as electric as Daniels. He’s fifth in EPA per dropback (.16), 10th in passer rating (101.2) and second among quarterbacks in rushing (656). On Sunday, he led the Commanders in passing (226 yards, 118.5 passer rating) and rushing (66 yards on 11 carries).

Up next: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Commanders went from marching past Saints to creating questions in chaotic finish

Last week: 14

Sunday: Beat Los Angeles Chargers 40-17

MVP: Wide receiver Mike Evans

Sure, Baker Mayfield is third in passing touchdowns (32), but Evans’ value is illustrated by the fact that Tampa Bay was 0-3 when he wasn’t in the lineup in Weeks 8-11 with a hamstring injury. He was in the game Sunday, and he had nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 749 yards for the season, and he’ll have to average 83.7 over the final three games to avoid the first sub-1,000-yard receiving season of his 11-year career.

Up next: at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET

BAKER MAYFIELD TO MIKE EVANS FOR THE 57-YARD TD 😤

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/4tIxa21jji

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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 15, 2024

12. Los Angeles Rams (8-6)

Last week: 15

Thursday: Beat San Francisco 49ers 12-6

MVP: Quarterback Matthew Stafford

The 36-year-old quarterback is 16th in the league in EPA per dropback (.08). He has 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, which is fine but nothing special. Still, he’s the reason the Rams have won seven of nine and are in the playoff mix after a 1-4 start. Stafford is now 11-1 in December since moving to Los Angeles, and has thrown 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in those games. “This time of year, it doesn’t matter how you win them, you’ve got to win them,” he said on the Prime Video telecast Thursday night.

Up next: at New York Jets, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

13. Houston Texans (9-5)

Last week: 13

Sunday: Beat Miami Dolphins 20-12

MVP: Defensive end Danielle Hunter

Quarterback C.J. Stroud gets graded on a tougher curve this year because of how good he was last season. That’s what allows Hunter to earn this spot. The ninth-year defensive end had 1 1/2 sacks against Miami and is second in the league with 12 for the season. Since 2022, he’s second in the league with 39 sacks, and Houston probably is pretty happy with its decision to sign him to a two-year, $49 million free-agency deal this past offseason.

Up next: at Kansas City Chiefs, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

14. Seattle Seahawks (8-6)

Last week: 9

Sunday: Lost to Green Bay Packers 30-13

MVP: Quarterback Geno Smith

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams is having a great year, but it’s Smith who makes this team go. Or not. Smith is ninth in the league in EPA per dropback (.28) with nine touchdowns and two interceptions when not under pressure, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s 25th with five touchdowns and 11 interceptions when under pressure. The Seahawks’ biggest problem is they have given up 223 pressures, which is more than all but two teams.

Up next: vs. Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET

15. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)

Last week: 12

Sunday: Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 40-17

MVP: Quarterback Justin Herbert

Herbert topped 20,000 career passing yards Sunday, becoming the third-youngest quarterback to reach that milestone. That may not make him feel much better after the game the Chargers had, though. Herbert finished the contest with an 87.3 passer rating, and his EPA per dropback (.01) is now 21st in the league and the worst of his five-year career. He’s still the Chargers’ MVP, but this year could be a lot better.

Up next: vs. Denver Broncos, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

Last week: 19

Sunday: Beat Tennessee Titans 37-27

MVP: Quarterback Joe Burrow

Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards (3,977) and passing touchdowns (36). On Sunday, he had his sixth straight game with at least 250 yards and three touchdowns. And, still, he was furious during a sideline conversation with head coach Zac Taylor late in the game. “I was frustrated in the day we had on offense,” Burrow said afterward. “It was just a frustrating day on offense.” Maybe setting a career-high in passing yards will help because he’s on pace to top the 4,611 he had in 2021.

Up next: vs. Cleveland Browns, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

How weird was Bengals’ win over Titans? Recounting so many wacky plays

Last week: 17

Sunday: Beat New England Patriots 30-17

MVP: Running back James Conner

Conner had 16 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and is ninth in the league in rushing (973 yards). He’s sixth among running backs in rushing success rate (43.8 percent). Conner had his career high in rushing last year in his seventh season in the league (1,040 yards), and he’s going to top it in his eighth year, barring disaster.

Up next: at Carolina Panthers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

James Conner ➕6️⃣

📺: #NEvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/KVZ6gx0e5W

— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024

Last week: 21

Monday: Beat Las Vegas Raiders 15-9

MVP: Running back Bijan Robinson

Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson learned his running back “rotation” from his old boss, Rams head Sean McVay. Bijan Robinson already has surpassed last season’s totals in carries and rushing yards. He is fifth in the league with 1,102 rushing yards on 237 carries, and he’s been the most consistent part of an up-and-down Falcons offense.

Up next: vs. New York Giants, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

19. Dallas Cowboys (6-8)

Last week: 22

Sunday: Beat Carolina Panthers 30-14

MVP: Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb

Lamb is getting 27.3 percent of Dallas’ passing targets this season, which ranks sixth in the league. On Sunday, he had nine catches for 116 yards. It was just his second 100-yard game of the season, but defensive end Micah Parsons hasn’t had quite a good enough season to unseat Lamb even though Parsons is fourth in pressure percentage among players with more than 100 pass rush snaps, according to TruMedia.

Up next: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET

20. Miami Dolphins (6-8)

Last week: 16

Sunday: Lost to Houston Texans 20-12

MVP: Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Granted, it didn’t particularly look like it on Sunday. Tagovailoa threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against the Texans, nearly doubling his interception total for the season to seven. Still, he’s top five in the league in EPA per dropback (.21), and none of his Miami teammates are giving him much competition for this recognition. Tyreek Hill is 24th in the league in receiving yards (805).

Up next: vs. San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

21. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)

Last week: 18

Thursday: Lost to Los Angeles Rams 12-6

MVP: Quarterback Brock Purdy

Purdy hasn’t played as well this season as he did last, but who in San Francisco has? The 24-year-old is seventh in EPA per dropback (.15) but has nine interceptions against 15 touchdowns one year after having 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. This will be an interesting offseason for Purdy, who has one more year on his rookie deal. He is set to make $1.1 million in 2025. Will a new deal get done this offseason?

Up next: at Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

22. Indianapolis Colts (6-8)

Last week: 20

Sunday: Lost to Denver Broncos 31-13

MVP: Running back Jonathan Taylor

Yes, Taylor gets it despite making Sunday’s worst play, dropping the ball short of the goal line to turn a touchdown into a turnover and give Denver all the momentum. On the positive side, he had 22 carries for 107 yards and now has 911 yards for the season. If the 25-year-old gets over 1,000, it will be the first time he has done that since 2021, when he had 1,811 yards and was second in offensive player of the year voting.

Up next: vs. Tennessee Titans, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

GO DEEPER

Colts’ calamities pile up in collapse against Broncos that crushes playoff dreams

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23. New Orleans Saints (5-9)

Last week: 23

Sunday: Lost to Washington Commanders 20-19

MVP: Running back Alvin Kamara

Saquon Barkley and Kyren Williams are the only players with more offensive touches than Kamara, who has produced 1,493 scrimmage yards on 228 carries for 950 yards and 68 receptions for 543 yards. This is already a career high in touches (296) for the 29-year-old, and he’s on pace to top his best total yardage mark (1,688) from 2020.

Up next: at Green Bay Packers, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

24. New York Jets (4-10)

Last week: 30

Sunday: Beat Jacksonville Jaguars 32-25

MVP: Edge Will McDonald IV

There aren’t many bright spots for the Jets this season. In fact, there may be only one — McDonald, who has blossomed in his second year in the league and is tied for seventh with 10 sacks. There was some concern after a three-sack rookie season that McDonald wasn’t going to fulfill his first-round pedigree, but he has this season.

Up next: vs. Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

25. Chicago Bears (4-10)

Last week: 24

Monday: Lost to Minnesota Vikings 30-12

MVP: Cornerback Jaylon Johnson

Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus may regret whatever part he played in getting Johnson a four-year, $76 million contract this offseason because it was Johnson who led the locker room in a testy conversation with Eberflus on Thanksgiving, a day before his firing. That probably will turn out to be a good thing for the Bears, though. On top of that, Johnson is Chicago’s most talented player.

Up next: vs. Detroit Lions, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

26. Cleveland Browns (3-11)

Last week: 25

Sunday: Lost to Kansas City Chiefs 21-7

MVP: Defensive end Myles Garrett

Browns fans gasped when Garrett ripped his helmet off and laid on the turf Sunday after getting poked in the eye, but Cleveland’s best player appeared to be fine after the game and should be able to finish a season in which he has accumulated 11 sacks, which ranks fifth in the league. Garrett has 99 1/2 sacks since being drafted first in 2017, which ranks second behind only T.J. Watt in that span.

Up next: at Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

27. Carolina Panthers (3-11)

Last week: 26

Sunday: Lost to Dallas Cowboys 30-14

MVP: Running back Chuba Hubbard

Sunday was a rough day (10 carries, 32 yards), but Hubbard is sixth in rushing for the season. His 1,043 yards and eight rushing touchdowns are career highs. Among the workhorse backs (more than 200 carries), he is sixth in rushing success rate (42.2 percent), and he’s doing it without a passing game that’s taking any pressure off him.

Up next: vs. Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

28. New England Patriots (3-11)

Last week: 27

Sunday: Lost to Arizona Cardinals 30-17

MVP: Quarterback Drake Maye

There aren’t many options in New England, but Maye is a deserving recipient despite numbers that won’t turn any heads. The rookie is 18th in EPA per dropback (.03) and 22nd in yards per attempt (6.8). But he’s also fifth among quarterbacks in rushing yards per game (35.9) and making lots of plays in the passing game by escaping trouble with his legs.

Up next: at Buffalo Bills, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

Drake Maye makin’ plays for the @Patriots TD!

📺: #NEvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/jVEltTKTo8

— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2024

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11)

Last week: 28

Sunday: Lost to New York Jets 32-25

MVP: Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

The rookie wide receiver had 10 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns Sunday. He’s eighth in the league with 956 receiving yards. His eight receiving touchdowns are tied for fifth, and his 14.9 yards per catch are 15th. Not bad for the fourth wide receiver drafted in 2024.

Up next: at Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

30. Tennessee Titans (3-11)

Last week: 29

Sunday: Lost to Cincinnati Bengals 37-27

MVP: Running back Tony Pollard

The sixth-year pro didn’t have a great day Sunday, but his 45 yards got him to 982 for the season, which is only 25 yards short of his career high. When he hits that, it’ll be a rare offensive highlight for a team that hired Brian Callahan to fix the offense but is 28th in scoring (18.14). Quarterback Will Levis was benched Sunday and may not return to the starting job this season.

Up next: at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-12)

Last week: 31

Monday: Lost to Atlanta Falcons 15-9

MVP: Tight end Brock Bowers

The rookie is tied for fourth in the NFL in catches this season with 90. Not second among tight ends. Second among all players. He and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers trail only Ja’Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and CeeDee Lamb. Despite playing with three quarterbacks (Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder), Bowers has 968 yards. Mike Ditka (1,076 yards) and Kyle Pitts (1,026 yards) are the only rookie tight ends to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.

Up next: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

32. New York Giants (2-12)

Last week: 32

Sunday: Lost to Baltimore Ravens 35-14

MVP: Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence

Lawrence went on injured reserve two weeks ago because of an elbow injury, and he will miss the rest of the season. He’s still the Giants’ MVP because he’s still ninth in the NFL in sacks with nine. He got all of them in the first seven games of the season, and Giants fans haven’t had much to be happy about since then.

Up next: at Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

(Top photo of Saquon Barkley: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese revealed on the latest episode of her podcast that prisoners found out her mom’s address and started to write her love letters.

Reese, who attended Maryland before transferring to LSU and winning a national championship, said on “Unapologetically Angel” that her mom had to get police involved.

“When I was in college, somehow, some way, these men in jail used to send letters – like love letters. Somehow, one of them got my address, my mom’s address. And my mom had to like do all that and call the police and all that,” she said.

“He talking about, ‘When I get out I’m coming for you. I’m going to be with you. We going to have kids.’ Sir, take a timeout.”

Reese’s guest, Coco Jones, joked that the person who sent her the weird message should get an extra two years in prison for “scary behavior.”

CAITLIN CLARK’S BROTHER SEEMINGLY RESPONDS TO MYSTICS OWNER’S SLIGHT OF SISTER’S TIME COVER

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, #5, shoots a free throw against the Indiana Fever during the second half at Wintrust Arena on Aug 30, 2024 in Chicago. (Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports)

“People are crazy,” Reese declared.

Reese, who is from Baltimore, played two seasons with the Terrapins before she transferred to LSU for her junior and senior seasons. She led the nation in scoring and rebounding during the 2022-23 season with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game.

She averaged 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese sits court side during the fourth quarter between the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden on Dec 3, 2024 in New York City. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

The Sky selected her with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game in 34 games. Her season was cut short due to an injury.

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“Howdy!” George Kittle says as he steps onto the podium on Nov. 24 in Green Bay, Wisc.

It’s how he begins every news conference, and this time he seems disappointed when no one says howdy back.

But it doesn’t seem like a howdy type of moment. The San Francisco 49ers have just lost 38-10 to the Packers, which has been interpreted as the death blow to their season. Everyone else is gloomy. Fred Warner calls the game “probably the worst I’ve been a part of.” Deebo Samuel Sr. doesn’t even talk to reporters afterward. The day is cold, the mood funereal.

Except for Kittle. In a game full of lousy statistics, he finishes with 82 receiving yards and the team’s only touchdown. And afterward, the irrepressible tight end refuses to give in to the gathering darkness.

“No, why would it?” Kittle said when asked if the awful outing erodes his optimism about making the playoffs. “It’s definitely an uphill grind. But we get to see what we’re made of. And I’m looking forward to that.”

The season has followed a similar script. The 49ers’ 2024 campaign will be known as one in which their stars, so radiant the year prior, were obscured by thick, unrelenting clouds. The exception again is Kittle, who at 31 is their oldest offensive weapon but leads them in receiving yards and touchdowns. With three games to go, he ranks third among NFL tight ends in receiving yards and is poised to surpass 1,000 yards for the second straight year and the fourth time in his career.

Longtime friend Trent Taylor thinks Kittle’s mentality — no one in the NFL is having a better time than Kittle — is tied to his success. There’s power in all those howdys.

“While he’s out here working his tail off, he also knows how to have fun with it,” Taylor, a 49ers receiver, said. “And the guys who don’t know how to have fun with it, those are the guys who burn out. I think that’s why he’s been so good for such a long time.”

The George Kittle who arrived at 49ers headquarters along with Taylor in 2017 — both were fifth-round picks — looked nothing like today’s version.

“I was fatter,” noted Kittle, who today weighs 243 pounds but had risen as high as 265. “In college they told me I had to weigh a lot more. I drank eight protein shakes a day. Don’t ever do that.”

He also had close-cropped hair, no facial hair and no visible tattoos. Today, he’s bearded and his blond hair is long. He dramatically whips his head back to get it out of his face before putting on his helmet.

And there’s ink everywhere.

Kittle explains he has a good-guy arm and a bad-guy arm and then ticks off each tat. The right arm and hand include Hobbes, the fun-loving tiger from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Master Chief, the stoic protagonist in the Halo video games, and Godzilla.

“Godzilla’s a good guy,” he insisted.

The bad-guy arm includes Venom and the Joker, a tattoo he got on the eve of his 2019 wedding (to the chagrin of then-fiancee, Claire) and is a persona Kittle often adopts on game days.

“His dark place is the Joker mentality — where he’s giggling out there and kind of making light of everything,” Taylor said. “When George is out there goofing off, that’s when he’s ready to go to war.”

And he’s just getting started. Kittle says he’s planning a three-headed tattoo for the bad-guy arm, then launches into a two-minute explanation of what he’s contemplating. He’s like a 6-year-old going over his Christmas list. One head might be Sauron, the ultimate bad guy in “Lord of the Rings.” Sauron has always been a personal favorite. Another might be a dark figure from a cartoon called “Samurai Jack.” And the third?

“Have you ever seen the movie ‘Puss in Boots’?” he asks. “The second one, ‘The Last Wish’? It’s fantastic — significantly better than the first. Huge fan of it. There’s a character in the second one. And it’s a gray wolf and he’s known as Death. And he’s coming for Puss in Boots. And his character in the movie — it’s just fantastic.”

(Courtesy of San Francisco 49ers)

What 31-year-old professional football player gets giddy over a Puss in Boots tattoo?

For a glimpse of what’s swirling inside Kittle’s ever-active mind — and to figure out the origin of his tattoos — you have to go to the 335-acre farm in Lockridge, Iowa, where he grew up.

Calvin and Hobbes, the blond kid and tiger who go on all sorts of adventures together? That sounds an awful lot like Kittle and his sister, Emma, who is three years older.

Their dad, Bruce, would read to them every night before bed. And it wasn’t “The Hungry Caterpillar.” Instead, he’d pick up “Lord of the Rings,” even when George was really little, lighting up his boyhood brain with stories of giant spiders, great falls into the abyss and taking on armies of blood-thirsty orcs.

“My dad had a great story-telling voice,” George said. “He could change his voice enough to where 4-year-old me thought he was watching a movie. I loved it.”

The next day, the kids would live out the adventures — leaping off bales of hay, chasing rabbits and sidestepping the snakes and spiders that lived in the old barn. Emma said it was as if she and her brother grew up in a different time.

“Growing up on a farm with horses — when you think about ‘Lord of the Rings’ and those stories and the Riders of Rohan? They’re on horseback,” she said. “There was just so much relatability where we felt like we could be one of the nine on these quests. For us, the magic of the storybooks felt very real.”

George Kittle’s imagination came to life on his family farm in Iowa with his sister, Emma, and cousin Henry Krieger, who later played football at Iowa with George and had a brief NFL career. (Courtesy of Jan Kreiger)

The farm was a place where the kids’ imaginations could run wild and where they could test themselves.

Emma remembered an episode when George was 8 and was helping with a young pony named Jack. The ponies had a mean streak and were particularly nasty that day. Emma and their mom, Jan Krieger, watched the scene unfold.

“Jack kicked up and just about smoked George right in the face,” she recalled. “I think he might have clipped his shoulder a little bit. And it scared us really bad and it was like, ‘Get him out of the ring!’”

George, who was all wobbly legs and elbows at the time, didn’t let Jack be the lord of the ring that day.

“You could see the rage bubbling up,” Emma said. “And he went in there to show him who’s boss. He didn’t say that, but he flung the gate open, marched in, grabbed the harness and told Jack, ‘We’re not going to be that way.’ I just remember Mom and I were freaking out.”

There were other books — the “Harry Potter” series, for instance — mixed in, but “Lord of the Rings” was the go-to, the one that stuck. Bruce thinks he probably read the trilogy aloud three times, nearly 1.5 million words total.

“By the third time, George was like, ‘Dad, skip ahead to the battle of Helm’s Deep!’” he said.

The bedtime stories sparked George’s love of books. He listens to audio versions to and from work and always has a stack — Sherlock Holmes mysteries, crime thrillers and especially sci-fi and adventure series — on his bedside table. “Lord of the Rings” also frames how he sees life and certainly how he views an NFL season, which also revolves around a powerful ring. It’s no wonder Kittle is the NFL’s biggest character. He sees himself as a character in a 17-chapter adventure tale.

But which one? Who was his favorite growing up?

“I should say Smeagol just to mess with him and give you a dark article,” Emma said with a laugh.

She and Bruce agreed that Aragorn, the virtuous leader played in the film series by Viggo Mortensen and also known as Strider in the books, probably was George’s favorite and a role model.

“But,” Bruce said, “it’s hard not to be in the camp of the Hobbits, too. Because so many people discount them because they’re smaller.”

Bruce, a former Iowa offensive lineman who coached George when he was little, noted his son was “super gangly” as a boy.

“There was a long time when he looked like a baby deer,” he said. “You know, a lot of legs.”

George Kittle and his older sister, Emma, developed a love for books thanks to the nightly readings from their father, Bruce. (Courtesy of Jan Kreiger)

And no one thought George was anything special coming out of Iowa, either. The 49ers only caught onto him after zeroing in on his buddy, Hawkeye quarterback C.J. Beathard, whom they drafted in the third round.

“George being a later-round draft choice — I think there was a little bit of Hobbitt-esque leaning,” Bruce said. “Like, ‘I’ve got a lot more power and gifts than you might imagine.’”

George conceded that those guesses are correct.

“I mean, Strider’s hard to beat,” he said.

But he added he also has an appreciation for Sauron, the all-seeing antagonist, and for bad guys in general. It’s why he has so many bad-guy tattoos, which he uses to channel dark energy on game days. After all, sweet, whimsical, hilarious Hobbes — who’s an excellent approximation of every-day-life George — isn’t the ideal persona when your job is cutting down 235-pound linebackers on run plays.

“It’s not all the time,” George said. “But there are times when you want it to be a little bit of chaos and laugh at life like the Joker, and there are times when you need to be as serious as possible and do things to get the job done like Master Chief. There’s also time to breathe fire like Godzilla. There’s certain energy I can pull from these things. I like seeing them and I just kind of channel it when I look at them.”

Taylor admits he used to think it was strange when he would cross paths with Kittle before games and the tight end would be muttering to himself as he morphed into one of his Sunday characters. Then he realized everyone was going through their own transformations.

“Everyone’s doing this weird stuff before the game,” Taylor said. “And it’s like, ‘Who am I to judge?’ We’ve all got to be a little bit crazy to play this game of football.”

The tale of Aragorn, Frodo and Sam also lends itself well to what the 49ers are going through now. The trilogy is about faith and sacrifice, grittiness and resilience and maintaining the course even in the face of overwhelming odds. It’s also heavy in veneration for those who fought before you.

“It means showing up even when you’re (6-8) and it’s not looking great,” Bruce said. “Because the game knows. You don’t want to create bad football karma.”

Which was why there was a tense “howdy” when George took the podium after their most recent game. The 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams all but eliminated the 49ers from the playoffs and, on top of that, it was marked by a teammate, De’Vondre Campbell Sr., quitting midway through the contest.

George Kittle, normally so chipper during post-game press conferences, was anything but following De’Vondre Campbell’s unexpected exit Thursday. Look who Kittle was wearing/channeling…

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— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows.bsky.social) December 15, 2024 at 10:25 AM

With no Sauron on his arm — yet — Kittle wore the “Lord of Rings” baddie on the front of his T-shirt instead, then channeled some rarely seen postgame energy.

“Whatever his decision was, it wasn’t for this organization, it wasn’t for this team,” Kittle said. “And that’s on him. I’m not very happy about it. I wish I would’ve heard about it on the field, but I didn’t.”

This year, the path seems blocked for Kittle and his companions. They’re two games back in the division with no edge in tiebreakers. It’s very unlikely they will finally find the magical ring this season.

But while it might be the end of this particular book, the Kittles are certain there’s more to the story. And they know the darkness will only make the light seem that much brighter. That is, it’s no time to be glum.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful ride,” Bruce said. “Yes, it’s tumultuous, but what avenue of life isn’t? So quit moping and go f—ing do it.”

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb: The Athletic; photos: Michael Owens and Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)