Following the San Francisco 49ers' 32-19 win over the New York Jets on Monday night, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk reflected on a missed opportunity—a perfectly thrown pass from quarterback Brock Purdy that slipped through his hands in the end zone just before halftime. The 49ers had to settle for a field goal.
Peyton Manning FIRED UP about Brandon Aiyuk's dropped pass in the endzone. #ManningCast pic.twitter.com/OYBn8bMZKv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2024
The spotlight was on Aiyuk at Levi's Stadium after he recently ended his contract standoff and signed a new deal that makes him one of the NFL's wealthiest receivers. Aiyuk finished the night with just two catches for 28 yards.
"It was a dime," Aiyuk said of Purdy's potential touchdown pass. He aims to bounce back from the miscue in this weekend's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
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NFL legend Jerry Rice joined Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game on Tuesday morning and was asked how long it might take for Aiyuk to regain his form after not practicing with his teammates until last week.
"I think it's going to take a couple of games for Brandon Aiyuk," Rice said. "I think we're all in that healing process right now because, man, it was crazy during the offseason. It was like a roller coaster ride, back and forth. I think, with him, he's probably putting pressure on himself to make those plays, but eventually, he's going to be able to just relax and just play football.
"But he didn't have any preseason ball games or anything like that, so the rhythm is off just a little bit. And when the regular season, when it starts, it goes to a whole different level. People don't realize that the level that it was at during preseason, it was much lower. Now, it's much bigger."
Despite the incompletion, Rice was impressed by Purdy's throw to Aiyuk.
"To see Brock Purdy drop that dime in there like that, I'm looking at this, I said, 'Oh, my God, it's a beautiful ball. It's a beautiful ball. Now, just watch it all the way in.' It was just unfortunate he (Aiyuk) was not able to pull it in. But I think his rhythm is going to come."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Rice below.