Peyton Manning made a bad play on Brandon Aiyuk on Monday night.
The Hall of Famer lashed out at the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver for dropping what would have been Aiyuk’s first touchdown pass of the season just before halftime of their 32-19 win over the New York Jets on Monday.
With 15 seconds left in the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw what looked like a perfect pass to Aiyuk in the corner of the end zone. Ayiuk dove for the ball, but the ball slipped out of his hands.
While it wasn’t the easiest play in the world, it’s one Aiyuk should make more often.
“There’s a reason for training camp! You need it! We need the reps!” a clearly frustrated Manning said while speaking with his brother, Eli, and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on their alternate broadcast of the game on ESPN2.
“Let’s get those deals done early so we can get training camp started and not turn the ball over on opening night.”
Aiyuk was seeking a new contract with the 49ers throughout the offseason. While he eventually agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension with the franchise late last month, he sat out training camp and at one point submitted a trade request, which nearly resulted in him being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers at one point. He even admitted that it “made his contract negotiations a little bit more difficult than they needed to be,” though he ultimately got his deal.
In fact, Aiyuk didn’t practice with the team for the first time this fall until last Tuesday. While Aiyuk was likely practicing alone before rejoining his teammates, Manning doesn’t think his quality was good enough.
“You’re still catching balls on a high school field with a quarterback who’s 45 years old, my age. You’re not catching balls from your quarterback,” Manning said. “We hired, we went into training camp and we didn’t drop the ball!”
Aiyuk racked up 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 75 receptions last season, helping the 49ers reach the Super Bowl. The 26-year-old is entering his fifth season in the league this fall.
While he’ll surely settle in and get going over time, his 2024 season is off to a slow start. He had 28 yards on two receptions and was targeted five times in the 49ers’ 13-point win over the Jets.