Brandon Aiyuk not happy his play wasn't ranked No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays
San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk was up and at ’em early on Monday morning after his team’s NFC Conference championship victory over the Detroit Lions. The former Arizona State standout tuned into SportsCenter from the comfort of his bed, but what he saw seemed to upset him.
Amid the SportsCenter top 10, his amazing rebound catch landed at No. 2, however, he couldn’t believe he didn’t get the No. 1 overall play. That honor went to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson who accomplished the incredibly rare feat of throwing and completing a pass to himself amid his team’s loss to the Chiefs.
“No. 2?” Aiyuk says in the short clip. “Who do they have at 1 now, let me see this sh**… Man, get the f***.”
Aiyuk’s incredible catch came when Brock Purdy heaved the ball downfield toward his wideout who was covered by Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch. For a moment, it appeared that Branch was about to snag an interception, which could have shifted the game for the Lions. Alas, instead of a pick, the ball bounced off of Branch’s facemask and wound up in Aiyuk’s hands as he dove to the ground.
In case you missed it, Lamar Jackson’s No. 1 play came as the Ravens trailed the Kansas City Chiefs, 14-7, in the second quarter. Jackson dropped back and attempted a pass to his left. Chiefs safety Justin Reid deflected the pass skyward and as a thicket of defenders chased it down for a potential interception, so did Jackson. The quarterback came up with it, taking the pass to himself another 13 yards for a first down.
49ers advance to Super Bowl LVIII
Aiyuk may be upset that he didn’t get the recognition from SportsCenter but Jackson would probably much prefer to be in the 49ers wideout’s position. Aiyuk was No. 2 in the highlights but his 49ers are still alive with a chance to win Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas in two weeks.
For the second time in four seasons, it will be a Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl matchup. The game will be played in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Nevada – home of the Las Vegas Raiders. And if you’d like to go see the Super Bowl in person, however, it’s going to be outrageously expensive. Ticket prices for even nosebleed seats start at over $8,000.
Last year, 112 million people tuned in to watch the Chiefs take down the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in an absolute classic. The average “get in” price for that one was considerably lower, $5,596, according to TicketSmarter.
On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.