The ESPN staff took a look at the upcoming slate of NFL games, as it does each week, and made its picks and predictions for each. Both Rich Cimini and Nick Wagoner picked the San Francisco 49ers to beat the New York Jets on Sunday, while ESPN's Football Power Index has the Niners with a 61.1 percent chance to win.
Wagoner, who covers the 49ers beat for ESPN, made his bold prediction for the game. He expects to see a big performance out of rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in his NFL debut. Aiyuk was inactive on Sunday during the Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
"49ers rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk will go over 100 yards in his NFL debut," Wagoner wrote. "Aiyuk is back from a hamstring injury, and after a poor showing for the Niners' receivers last week, Aiyuk will get plenty of chances to show why coach Kyle Shanahan coveted him in the first round of the NFL draft."
The Jets allowed 312 passing yards during their Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The performance places the Jets' pass defense at No. 29 in the NFL.
ESPN also notes George Kittle's 44 receiving yards against the Cardinals in Week 1. That's notable because the All-Pro tight end hasn't had back-to-back games under 50 yards since his rookie 2017 season.
Kittle has not practiced yet this week as he, like many of his teammates, deals with an injury himself. The tight end suffered what has been reported by head coach Kyle Shanahan to be a knee sprain. Kittle took a hit from Cardinals safety Budda Baker right before halftime during Week 1. While he did continue playing in the second half, the tight end was held without a catch after the injury.
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