Hall Of Famer had choice words for Brandon Aiyuk during Monday Night Football

Hall Of Famer Peyton Manning did not mince his words on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk during the ESPN2 broadcast of the Manningcast on Monday Night Football.

Following Aiyuk's drop of a perfectly thrown pass to the corner of the end zone by quarterback Brock Purdy late in the second quarter of the Monday Night Football game against the New York Jets, Manning unloaded on Aiyuk over his lack of practice time during his recent holdout:

These were strong words, but it's not exactly an unfair comment from Manning. In fact, in many ways, he may have said what a lot of Niners fans were already thinking: Aiyuk looked rusty throughout the first half, and the drop just compounded that feeling.

Fortunately, plenty of Aiyuk's teammates picked up the slack and helped give San Francisco a comfortable lead entering the fourth quarter.

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It's particularly disappointing, though, as Purdy unleashed an MVP-level throw on the play, and yet it came to nothing. It's fair to say that these were the kind of plays Aiyuk made last year also, particularly one in the vital Philadelphia Eagles game late in the season.

Practice time or not, those are plays you have to make, particularly when you've just been paid as a top-five player at your position. The 49ers ultimately had to settle for a field goal on the drive, meaning a potential four-point swing in what was a tight game at the time of the non-catch.

Hopefully, it won't turn out to be crucial.

What did you make of Manning's comments about Aiyuk?

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