SF 49ers: Brandon Aiyuk will be massive thorn in Cowboys side

The SF 49ers can get their offense going again versus a weak Cowboys defense on Sunday, and Brandon Aiyuk can be a big reason why.

Unlike their last two games, the SF 49ers don’t have to worry too much about facing a good defense when they square off against the 4-9 Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Week 15.

Dallas enters the contest with the league’s worst scoring defense, and it has also given up 4,912 total yards on the season, which is good for 23rd overall.

Simply put, no matter how the Niners offense is formulated on Sunday, it should be able to move the ball and score much easier than it ever had the chance to do against both the Buffalo Bills and Washington Football Team the last two weeks.

While San Francisco has little to play for these final three games aside from being the spoiler and thumbing yet another nose at their longtime rivals, the Cowboys, watching rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been one of this season’s best surprises amid an otherwise frustrating 2020 campaign.

Aiyuk already has 660 receiving yards over 10 games played this season and leads all SF 49ers pass-catchers in this category, and he’s only 267 yards from breaking the franchise’s rookie receiving record of 927 yards set by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice back in 1985.

Interestingly enough, Rice is enthusiastically rooting for Aiyuk to break the record.

“Hell yeah! Of course!” Rice told 95.7 The Game (h/t 49ers Webzone). “And I’ll be the first one to congratulate this guy. And I think he is the future, and he’s going to continue to get better.”

That means Aiyuk will need to average at least 89 receiving yards per game over these next three contests to reach the mark, and there are good enough reasons why the rookie picks up some huge chunks in Week 15 at Dallas.

SF 49ers Brandon Aiyuk will thrive vs. Cowboys defense

Dallas’ defense has been a shell this season, and it’s already surrendering 6.5 yards per pass attempt over 14 weeks, good for 19th.

Yet those figures are skewed a bit by the Cowboys facing off against lowly offenses elsewhere within the NFC East, namely Washington, the Philadelphia Eagles and NY Giants. Granted, the Niners aren’t exactly tearing things up through the air, but Aiyuk has been a different story.

For starters, Dallas isn’t offering up much of a pass rush this season, boasting only 24 sacks, which is tied for 20th most. That means whoever is under center for San Francisco in Week 15 will have more time for Aiyuk to run his routes and get open without worrying too much about the pressure.

On top of that, the Cowboys are still shorthanded at cornerback. Chidobe Awuzie is still on the reserve/COVID-19 list, while the rookie, Trevon Diggs, is on injured reserve with a foot injury.

These injuries have forced reserve corners Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown into much more prominent roles, and both have struggled this season in pass coverage, allowing passer ratings of 87.1 and 128.3 when targeted, respectively, per Pro Football Focus. Brown is also dealing with a ribs injury, which could potentially make the Dallas secondary even more vulnerable.

Should this all be the case, Aiyuk and the SF 49ers passing offense could see something of a resurgent performance.

And while the net result might not change much of anything for the Niners’ all-but-dead playoff hopes, at least getting Aiyuk into a position where he can set a lofty record would be worthwhile.

The SF 49ers and Cowboys kick off on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.