Getty Brandon Aiyuk on January 8, 2023 in Santa Clara.
Someone’s defense is getting exposed on Sunday, February 12 down in Glendale, Arizona between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs with the Super Bowl on the line, as Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers believes.
He has seen both defenses this past season. But between the two, he tells The SFNiners podcast that the one that will get exposed is the defense the wide receiver recently saw.
“I think the pass game, this Kansas City pass game, will expose what we thought we were going to be able to expose before some unfortunate circumstances happened. So we’ll see,” Aiyuk said in the clip released on Saturday, February 4.
He also isn’t one to praise the NFC champions following their 31-7 loss in Philadelphia. Aiyuk pointed out how a battered quarterback room led to the Eagles getting “extremely lucky last week.”
“But like I said, you gotta get lucky to win a Super Bowl. And they just got extremely lucky last week, so who’s to say they can’t do it twice. Like I said, I’m not going to speak too much on it,” Aiyuk said.
Except Aiyuk spoke a lot about the upcoming Super Bowl matchup — including who he thinks will win.
‘If I Were to Bet on This Game’
Aiyuk, who delivered his first 1,000-yard season in 2022, insists he’s not one to put money on the line. However, he did make his Super Bowl pick if he were to bet on who claims the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“If I was a betting man, which I am not…hypothetically speaking, if I were to bet on this game, I would take everything that I own, get it in cash and put my money on the Kansas City Chiefs,” Aiyuk said. “Like I said, I’m not going to talk about Philly but…
“Look at me, I’m sitting on the couch, I have no room to talk about nobody playing next week. But like I said, I got the Chiefs. I think the Chiefs…I just, I don’t know. [The Eagles] got their hands full. I don’t know fully about that defense. I don’t know. They talk about them being a good defense, I’m not too sure.”
Aiyuk ended up with just one catch for 10 yards in the NFC title game loss. The counterargument from others, though, will be how Aiyuk and the 49er receivers had to operate with no healthy quarterback against the Eagles’ pressure.
Aiyuk Shares Who he Thought Was the League’s Best Team
Not known to be a verbose talker, Aiyuk went the honest route in detailing who he believes was the best team from this past season.
“I’m not going even going to argue with anyone who thinks they should argue that,” Aiyuk began. “But that’s what makes it so sick about this one because we feel like everything we did from that point on…just what we did to the league, how we just played on tape, I firmly believe we put fear in the opponent’s hearts.”
Aiyuk continued with, “When they had to come to play San Francisco, the 49ers, we felt like it was our time. We felt like it was our time and for that to get cut short, it’s sickening.”