San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he wasn't overly impressed with anyone's performance during Sunday's 43-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
"I'll watch the film, but I don't think anyone on our team played that great," Shanahan told reporters after the game.
One player who may change the coach's mind once he reviews the film is rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis, who had a breakout game against Seattle. He hauled in five receptions on seven targets for 129 yards (25.8 average) with two touchdowns, all career highs. Pettis' touchdown catches were on 17- and 75-yard passes from quarterback Nick Mullens.
Sunday was Pettis' first 100-yard performance, first game with multiple scores, and the first time he has gotten into the end zone in back-to-back weeks.
"He got a number of plays," Shanahan said. "I think he got into the end zone twice, and it was two good routes on both of those. He did a good job when he had the opportunities."
Even if the loss, the 49ers' 10th of the season, left Shanahan unimpressed with Pettis' performance, one Hall of Fame receiver compared the rookie to a Niner great. Jerry Rice joined 95.7 The Game on Monday morning and explained.
"Dante, he reminded me of someone," Rice said on the "Joe, Lo & Dibs" show, of course, referring to himself. "When you catch that ball, you're thinking six. You're not thinking about going down. You want to make that big play.
"I think he's really starting to develop, and he's showing that on the football field. He's having a good time, and he's being very productive."
Rice went on praising the 49ers' rookie receiver, who is finally getting healthy after dealing with a knee injury for much of the season.
"When you make a catch like that — and I did it over and over during practice, during training camp — it was all about finishing," Rice continued. "I saw some flashes yesterday, and he was able to get into the end zone twice. You can tell he's having a great time on that football field right now.
"I think when Kyle Shanahan, when he said some great things about him, it really built his confidence, and it's starting to show on the field."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Rice below. The comments about Pettis are at the start of the interview.
