SF 49ers: Brandon Aiyuk now only 194 yards away from franchise record

While the SF 49ers lost ugly to the Cowboys in Week 15, rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk is much closer to a cherished franchise record.

Plenty of things went wrong for the SF 49ers in Week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Three turnovers by the Niners led to 27 Dallas points, which proved to be the critical difference in the ugly 41-33 defeat, and San Francisco’s already-dim playoff hopes are essentially crushed.

Just like the majority of San Francisco’s headache of a 2020 campaign.

But if there’s been a good story to watch, it’s been the emergence of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, whom the SF 49ers selected at No. 25 overall in this year’s NFL Draft. Despite a rotating door of wideouts, including Aiyuk from time to time, the former ASU standout has proven to be the right pick by the Niners and should have himself a bright future at the NFL level.

That future could potentially include breaking a cherished franchise record, too.

Aiyuk entered the game with 660 receiving yards, trailing fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel‘s 802 receiving yards recorded in 2019, by 142 yards for second most all time by a rookie in the franchise’s record books.

The No. 1 place-holder on that list? None other than Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, whose 927 pass-catching yards back in 1985 still ranks best among all San Francisco rookie pass-catchers.

Aiyuk didn’t necessarily have a breakout game against a Cowboys defense that has given up more points than any other team in the league this season. But the rookie did manage to record 73 yards on nine catches with a touchdown in the loss.

Now, Aiyuk trails Rice by 194 yards with two games left to play. And he’s 69 yards behind Samuel’s mark for second place.

Brandon Aiyuk could set record when SF 49ers play Seahawks in Week 17

It’s hard to envision the scuffling and injury-plagued Niners upending the Seattle Seahawks to close out the regular season in Week 17.

Yet if there’s to be a silver lining in a predicted loss, Aiyuk setting a rookie record for San Francisco would be fantastic. He’ll need to average at least 97 yards receiving in the SF 49ers’ remaining two games, first against the Arizona Cardinals and then against Seattle, to reach that mark. And while the Cardinals entered Week 15 with only 2,924 receiving yards allowed this season, ninth best in the league, the Seahawks’ 3,833 yards allowed prior to this weekend’s slate of games was worst in the NFL.

And Seattle gave up an additional 269 pass yards to the lowly Washington Football Team offense in Week 15, too.

Aiyuk has played in just 11 of a possible 14 games for San Francisco this season, and one can only wonder if those numbers would have been drastically bigger if he was available.

Or if the SF 49ers had received more consistent and effective quarterbacking play.

Nonetheless, Aiyuk is getting close to a prized record held by the greatest NFL player of all time, and that alone is worthy of attention in an otherwise forgettable season.