MINNEAPOLIS – Yes, the 49ers played poorly on Sunday.
But despite every bad play by the 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings did exactly what they wanted.
“They (the Vikings) played really well, but it was too sloppy on our part,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers’ 23-17 loss to the Vikings on Sunday in Week 2 of the NFL season.
The 49ers made crucial mistakes in every phase of the game. They lost momentum on offense, a punt was blocked, and the defense allowed the longest play in franchise history.
All in all, it was another road loss to the Vikings, who have now beaten the 49ers eight times in a row in Minnesota in 30 years. The 49ers’ last win as a visiting team against the Vikings was in 1992.
Here is the testimony of the 49ers’ loss, which dropped their season record to 1-1:
Attack force
The 49ers’ running game is currently undergoing a major change with Christian McCaffrey out for at least the first five games of the season.
But his backup, Jordan Mason, was one of the few bright spots in this game. Mason made his second NFL start and his second 100-yard rushing game. He gained 100 yards and a touchdown on 20 rushing attempts.
Quarterback Brock Purdy had two 12-yard rushing attempts and was the 49ers’ second-best runner.
Degree: C-minus
Passing offense
Purdy’s stats don’t look too bad after this game. He completed 28 of 36 passes for 319 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. But Purdy also lost a fumble when the ball slipped out of his hand while throwing it.
The passing game struggled, as the 49ers managed just 2 of 10 on the third attempt and 1 of 3 on the fourth attempt.
When the 49ers had to start throwing to get themselves out of the hole, the Vikings started their pass rush. Purdy was sacked six times for 22 yards, and even All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams was not immune to the less-than-ideal play.
Deebo Samuel had a successful day with eight catches for 110 yards. George Kittle added seven catches for 76 yards.
Brandon Aiyuk had four catches for 43 yards as he continues to shake off the rust of an offseason where he didn’t practice with his teammates.
Degree: D
Rushing defense
The 49ers’ goal was to stop the run in order to make the opponent one-dimensional. They failed to do that on Sunday, as the Vikings ran for 146 yards on 24 rushing attempts and averaged 6.1 yards.
Backup running back Ty Chandler gained 82 yards on 10 rushing attempts. Aaron Jones had 32 yards on nine rushing attempts.
The Vikings also got some great yards from quarterback Sam Darnold, who ran for 34 yards three times (before kneeling twice near the end of the game).
Degree: D minus
Pass defense
Linebacker Fred Warner had two passing recoveries with an interception and a forced fumble on a pass play. Those two plays keep the grade from being a big, fat “F.”
Apart from that, the 49ers had a lot of trouble getting off the field. The Vikings converted 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) of their third downs.
Darnold had a great game, passing for 268 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson against coverage of safeties George Odum and Ji’Ayir Brown to beat a blitz.
Darnold threw another touchdown to Jalen Nailor on a play where Charvarius Ward did everything he could to prevent a supposed running play.
Degree: D minus
Special teams
The first big play of the game came from special teams when the 49ers botched a play on the right side, allowing CJ Ham to break through and block Mitch Wishnowsky’s punt.
The Vikings ended the scoreless period a few plays later with a field goal.
The 49ers had only one kickoff return all game, and that drive started at the 10-yard line when Samuel only reached the 20-yard line and a Renardo Green penalty set the field position back 10 yards.
Things could have been worse for the special teams when rookie Jacob Cowing botched a punt. After a wild scramble, Isaac Yiadom ended up with the ball.
Degree: F
Coaching
Coach Kyle Shanahan tried three times on fourth downs in the first half after only doing so 13 times all of last season.
The 49ers were 1-for-3 on those fourth-down attempts, so two of those plays – all sound decisions – backfired. Shanahan said two of those decisions were made because they were just outside field goal range.
San Francisco tried it again on fourth down and goal from the 2. Shanahan said he knew that even if the 49ers failed, the Vikings would be stuck deep in their own territory. But the Vikings made the 49ers pay with Darnold’s 97-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson.
In other words, whatever the 49ers tried on Sunday, it didn’t work.
Degree: D
In total
This was a team effort.
None of the 49ers played well enough to win this game. The loss was a pure team effort.
Degree: D minus
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