This week, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk expressed enthusiasm about facing the Baltimore Ravens in a much-hyped matchup, saying, "It's a good gift for everybody in the football world on Christmas, so we're excited as well."
The 49ers played on Thanksgiving night and are preparing for a big Week 16 battle on Christmas night. Head coach Kyle Shanahan admits he wasn't too happy with the NFL's schedule makers when the schedule was released in May.
"I definitely didn't think it was cool when I got the schedule," Shanahan told John Dickinson and Kerry Crowley on Bay Area radio station KNBR on Friday. "We've been real lucky here. I mean, the seven years I've been here, it's been so random, but we've gotten the Christmas off every [year]. We've had, like, eight-day weeks. We played on Saturday, the day before Christmas, our first year when we played Jacksonville, so we've been real lucky.
"And when we saw this, we weren't too excited about it, especially the family and stuff. But when you get to this point, and you see where we're at, and our record and everything, and them, and being on Christmas and knowing how I feel when I get to watch those basketball games and stuff, it is a pretty cool opportunity for us, a pretty special game. And happy to be in it, and we're going to enjoy it."
The 49ers and Ravens sit atop their respective conference standings and lead the race for home-field advantage, increasing the stakes for Monday night's matchup.
This is only the second time the 49ers have played on Christmas, with the previous matchup taking place in 1993 against the Houston Oilers. Shanahan's father, Mike Shanahan, was San Francisco's offensive coordinator at the time. His 49ers lost that game 10-7, but that's not necessarily what his son remembers from that day.
"I remember not being able to open my presents that morning and having to wait until we got home later in the day to do it," Kyle Shanahan shared. "So I was upset with my dad for that, which I'm sure my kids are going to be upset with me, but I didn't remember much about the game at that time."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
