Minnesota Vikings (2-0) – San Francisco 49ers (1-1): 23-17
A mouth-watering encounter between two teams that played in the first week. If the Vikings are the underdogs, the 49ers nevertheless have a revenge to take compared to last year's surprise defeat. But at the end of the match: bis repetita for Minnesota and a Sam Darnold as surprising as ever. The Niners have found their bête noire.
San Francisco unable to conclude
In the first half, the Niners fail to get their game going, despite a Jordan Mason on his feet (20 carries, 100 yards, 1 touchdown). Like against the Jets, San Francisco is not very effective in the red zone (2 touchdowns in 4 passes) and even less so on third downs (2 attempts converted out of 10).
Brian Flores' defense offers a lot of diversity and harasses Brock Purdy: 28/36, 319 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, sacked 6 times. The turning point of the game may be the sequence of a 4th failed attempt a few yards from the end zone and a 97-yard BOMB for a red-hot Justin Jefferson (4 receptions, 133 yards, 1 touchdown).
OMG JUSTIN JEFFERSON!!!! 😱😱😱
After a huge stop by the Vikings on 4th down, the star receiver goes for a 97-yard touchdown!!
One of the actions of this start of the season!pic.twitter.com/ZKgswVYt5o
— DNA of Sports.com – NFL News (@DNA of Sports) September 15, 2024
13-7 at halftime, the Vikings took an option.
Fred Warner calls for the revolt, but Darnold secures the victory.
If San Francisco stayed in the game for so long, linebacker Fred Warner was no stranger to it. The All-Pro was absolutely everywhere: 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, 2 passes defended! He prevented the Vikings from taking off on a fumble caused on runner Aaron Jones, also on his feet (9 carries, 32 yards, 5 receptions, 36 yards), just one yard from the end zone.
The Niners controlled the clock (35 minutes of possession against 25 for Minnesota), but it was Sam Darnold (17/26, 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) who made the critical throws in an interminable 7-minute drive at the end of the game. Purdy's replacement last season, the wink is funny.
The Vikings take the lead in their division before a clash next week against the Texans. The big black mark could be the injury to Justin Jefferson, who went into the locker room in the second half. The Niners will have to bounce back against the Rams' division rivals.
