Brandon Aiyuk appeared to have a limited role in the 49ers’ 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings but coach Kyle Shanahan said that was not the plan.
The second-team All-Pro caught four of his five targets for 43 receiving yards which was an increase from his Week 1 performance where he connected on two of his five targets for 28 yards, but Shanahan explained there were chances for more in the Week 2 contest.
“There was a number of times he had a real good chance to get the ball,” Shanahan said on Monday via conference call. “A couple times protections broke down on two of them. One time someone busted a route and just got in the same way, so they covered it up.”
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The 49ers' offense now will rely on Aiyuk moving forward with both running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel expected to miss at least the next two weeks with injuries.
Aiyuk was on the field for 43 offensive plays (60 percent) in the season opener and saw his snap count increase to 61 plays (87 percent) on Sunday. Shanahan intended to get his star receiver involved in more explosive plays but the Vikings' defense stifled their plans.
“He had a chance to get about four big passes and other factors happened,” Shanahan said. “It’s a team game. There are 11 guys out there that are involved in getting someone the ball. He did have some opportunities where he should have, but not everything went right.”
The 49ers hope everything goes according to plan in their Week 3 clash with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Shanahan not only will rely on Aiyuk, but Jauan Jennings, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell and rookie Jacob Cowing to step up in Samuel’s absence.
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Shanahan also shared on Monday that the 49ers have not decided how they will use their open roster spot vacated by McCaffrey. They might use standard elevations to bring players from the practice squad up as needed for games.
The 49ers have veteran receivers Trent Taylor and Terrace Marshall Jr. and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn on the practice squad who are eligible to be elevated if needed.
The Rams are dealing with their own injury woes with several starters already on injured reserve on both sides of the ball, with others potentially missing multiple games.
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