The San Francisco 49ers will be without star running back Christian McCaffrey for the second straight week when they take on the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. McCaffrey will also miss the three games after this one after being placed on injured reserve due to Achilles tendinitis on Saturday.
In his absence, the 49ers will rely heavily on Jordan Mason, who had a career game against the New York Jets in week one with 147 rushing yards. This is the second time in as many years that San Francisco will head to Minneapolis with key offensive players missing the contest. Last season, Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel were out due to injuries, while Justin Jefferson was out for Minnesota.
This year, Minnesota will be without star tight end T.J. Hockenson and second-year wide receiver Jordan Addison, who suffered an ankle injury during the team's blowout win over the New York Giants in week one.
With Jefferson’s absence, Addison and Hockenson torched the 49ers' defense last season in the Vikings 22-17 win. Addison had 123 yards and two touchdowns, while Hockenson had 86 yards.
Game Info
Date: Sunday, September 15
Start Time: 10:00 AM PST
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stadium: U.S. Bank Stadium
TV Info: CBS (Broadcasters: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins)
49ers Uniform Info: White Primary (White tops and Gold pants)
Minnesota Vikings Stats (From 2023)
Points Per Game: 20.2 (22nd)
Points Allowed Per Game: 21.3 (14th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 347.8 Yards (10th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 256.4 Yards Per (5th) and 91.4 Yards Per (29th)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 333.2 Yards (16th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 234.5 Yards Per (24th) and 98.7 Yards Per (8th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 38.1% (18th) and 41.4% (26th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 47.1% (28th) and 54.0% (14th)
Penalties: 89 (9th)
Penalty Yardage: 670 Yards (4th)
Injury Report
Vikings: WR Jordan Addison (Out), S Harrison Smith (Questionable), OT Brian O’Neill (Questionable) and G Ed Ingram (Questionable)
49ers: RB Christian McCaffrey (Out), S Talanoa Hufanga (Doubtful) and LB Dee Winters (Questionable)
Minnesota Vikings
Offense
Outside of McCaffrey and Addison's injuries, this game's biggest storyline is Sam Darnold facing his former team.
Darnold only spent one season with San Francisco, played in garbage time, and got one start in a game with no playoff implications. Even though Darnold only had 46 pass attempts, Minnesota saw enough to give him $10 million to be a bridge quarterback until rookie J.J. McCarthy was ready to take over.
With McCarthy out for the season, Darnold will have his first true chance to prove himself in a functional franchise. He made a great first impression on Minnesota fans, completing nearly 80% of his passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
The Vikings also added running back Aaron Jones this offseason. The former Green Bay Packer had a strong debut, rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown, and he hopes to build off his strong end to last season when he rushed for over 100 yards in five consecutive games, the last of which game in Green Bay’s Divisional Round loss to San Francisco when he ran for 108 yards. While Jones is a great running back and a legitimate threat, there’s no question about who the star of this Vikings offense is.
Despite missing half of the season, Jefferson still eclipsed 1000 yards for the fourth straight season, which has been every season of his career since getting drafted in 2020. With Hockenson out for at least another month, Minnesota will rely on Josh Oliver to carry the load at tight end. In the season opener, Oliver was Minnesota’s third-leading receiver behind Jefferson and Addison.
Defense
When a team faces the Daniel Jones-led Giants, it’s tough to gauge how good the defense actually is. Regardless of Jones’ play, the Vikings defense looked excellent.
Despite losing 2023’s sack leader Danielle Hunter in free agency to the Houston Texans, the Vikings pass rush got five sacks. Two of which came from linebacker Pat Jones II. Newcomer Andrew Van Ginkel also had a great debut, including a highlight-reel pick-six.
While the Vikings' pass defense stole the show with five sacks and two interceptions, the run defense was also strong.
The Giants began the post-Saquon Barkley era by only totaling 74 yards on the ground. The Vikings held the Giants’ new starter, Devin Singletary, to just 37 yards on 10 carries and didn’t allow a run more than seven yards from the veteran.
There isn’t a team in the league that has a more challenging jump than the Minnesota defense does going from New York to San Francisco, but if the pass rush puts Brock Purdy under consistent pressure, they could make it a close game for a while.
San Francisco 49ers
Offense
Even though Mason became known nationwide after his 147-yard outburst, he’ll be challenged against Minnesota’s strong run defense. Last season, the Vikings were the only team to hold the 49ers to under 100 rushing yards, and they did so by a wide margin by only giving up 65 yards on the ground.
The 49ers will benefit from Brandon Aiyuk having a whole week of practice after missing all of training camp. Aiyuk struggled in his first game since signing his four-year $120M extension after only having 28 yards on two receptions. Aiyuk also had a rare drop in the endzone on a perfect pass from Purdy.
Aiyuk already has as many drops this year after only one game as he did across 20 games last season. Luckily for him, Jauan Jennings and Deebo Samuel had solid games with 64 and 54 yards, respectively.
After being a concern for several seasons, the offensive line looked much improved from last season. Four out of the five starters returned from last season. The only newcomer is rookie Dominck Puni. Puni can already make a case for the team's best offensive lineman outside of Williams.
Regardless of position, starting in Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a rookie is no small feat, and Puni has already earned the respect of Williams and other teammates. “I forget he's a rookie sometimes,” Williams told local reporters. “He's just so mature for his age.”
Defense
The 49ers' defense will be tasked with stopping an elite wide receiver for the second straight week. Outside of one drive, the 49ers did a great job of slowing down Jets star Garrett Wilson, as he ended up with just 60 yards on 11 targets. While Wilson is one of the best up-and-coming receivers in the league, he’s not Jefferson.
When healthy, the league might not have a better all-around receiver. Even with the absences of Addison and Hockenson, Jefferson has the talent to take over a game all by himself. Even with a quarterback like Darnold, who sometimes struggles with accuracy, Jefferson can haul in anything in his vicinity.
It won’t be a cakewalk for Jefferson, however, as the 49er cornerbacks had a great game last week, with Deommodore Lenoir causing an interception, Isaac Yiadom breaking up a fourth-down pass intended for Wilson, and Charvarius Ward getting prime Richard Sherman treatment where quarterbacks won’t throw in his direction.
The linebacker group also had a solid game against the Jets. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had an interception, while De’Vondre Campbell had four tackles in his first game as a 49er.
But you can’t talk about the linebacker group without mentioning Fred Warner, the best linebacker in the NFL, who seems to get better every year.
Warner flew all over the field and led San Francisco with seven tackles. His former defensive coordinator and Jets’ Head Coach, Robert Saleh, had the highest praises for the veteran, saying he will be a Hall of Famer.
“The guy is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and I don't know if a lot of people recognize that, but … at times during the game, it felt like there were three of him out there, the way he was running around. And so it was a different feeling being on the opposite sideline for the first time ever in his career to watch it,” Saleh said Friday during a press conference,”
They'll be in good shape if the 49ers can contain Jefferson and keep Jones from breaking off long runs.
Betting Info
Points Spread: SF -4.5 (-110) | MIN +4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: SF (-218) | MIN (+180)
Over/Under: O 46 (-112) | U 46 (-108)
Lines via DraftKings as of Saturday, September 14
Last week, the Vikings were one-point favorites over the lowly Giants and won by 22 points. At the same time, they look like a team that can compete for the final playoff spot in the NFC; being 4.5-point underdogs seems a bit close, especially if the 49ers take care of the ball.
Prediction
I think this game will be close through three quarters, but unlike last year, when Purdy threw two late picks after getting a concussion earlier, he will make the throws he has to make for the 49ers to win their first game in Minnesota since 1992. Mason won’t have as good of a game as last week, but he still put up over 70 yards on the ground. The Vikings will put up a good fight, but the 49ers star power, even without McCaffrey, will be too much for them to overcome.
Final Score: 49ers 27, Vikings 17
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