Dante Pettis's Week 13 performance against the Seattle Seahawks was enough to earn the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver a nomination for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. Other nominees include Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James, and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
The 49ers found themselves without both of their starting wideouts for the second-straight week, and Pettis benefited from the extra playing time and targets. He hauled in five receptions for 129 yards (25.8 average) and two touchdowns against Seattle, all career highs. Pettis' two scores came on 17- and 75-yard passes from quarterback Nick Mullens.
The game was Pettis' first with 100-or-more receiving yards and his first multi-touchdown performance. He now has four touchdown receptions this season, which is the most by a 49ers player during his rookie season since wide receiver Terrell Owens did so (four as well) in 1996 and the fourth-most by a rookie in franchise history.
Pettis' 129 reception yards in a single game also rank fourth-most by a rookie in franchise history and are the most since wide receiver Jerry Rice recorded 241 reception yards versus the Los Angeles Rams on December 9, 1985.
Rice was impressed by what saw from Pettis on Sunday.
"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 said this week on 95.7 The Game. "I saw some flashes (from Pettis) 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."
The 49ers made Pettis a second-round draft pick out of Washington in April.
Click here to vote for Pettis to be the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.
H/t to Keiana Martin of 49ers.com for the news.
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