Spooky season came early for Brandon Aiyuk this year.
The 49ers wide receiver was so horrified by his Week 1 performance against the Jets that he admitted he was “scared” to watch the tape of the “Monday Night Football” game.
“I didn’t watch the film until this morning. I was really scared to watch it,” Aiyuk told reporters Wednesday.
Nevertheless, he did say that things didn’t go as poorly as he had originally thought.
“But it was not as bad as I thought.”
Aiyuk reeled in just two catches for 28 yards in San Francisco’s thrashing of the Jets, but the wideout stood out for the play he didn’t make.
He dropped a would-be touchdown pass from Brock Purdy on a beautiful ball in the corner of the end zone with 12 seconds left in the quarter.
The drop was egregious enough that Peyton Manning called out Aiyuk for missing it on ESPN’s “ManningCast” alternate coverage.
He hinted that Aiyuk’s long holdout — which finally ended on Aug. 29 — that kept him away from the practice field was a major reason for the drop.
“There’s a reason for training camp! You need it! We need the reps!” Manning said. “Get those contracts done earlier so we can get in training camp and you don’t drop balls on opening night.”
Aiyuk, now with a $120 million extension in hand, hopes he can turn around in Week 2 against the Vikings on Sunday.
“We got a short week this week, so it’s being deliberate today and tomorrow and leading all the way up to the game,” he told reporters.