49ers dud: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk
Again, we might be nitpicking here a little bit by going after Brandon Aiyuk. But, with Deebo Samuel out with injuries, one could have figured Aiyuk would be able to continue his team-leading receiving numbers without much of a challenge.
Particularly against a bad and banged-up Seattle defense.
Aiyuk was mostly quiet throughout the night, targeted four times and he caught just two of those passes for a mere 19 yards. And on one of those misses, Aiyuk dropped what was essentially a perfect strike from Brock Purdy that could have moved the chains on a third-down play.
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Instead, San Francisco’s best wide receiver on the evening was Jauan Jennings, who came up with multiple third-down grabs in clutch situations.
Fortunately for Aiyuk, he’ll have a much better chance to shine in Week 16 against a team that runs more man coverage than the Seahawks, and that’ll play into the third-year pro’s strength.