Fred Warner’s heroics weren’t enough to offset the 49ers’ woes in a road-opening loss at Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS – Mistakes mounted from one quarter to the next, from the 49ers’ special teams to their pass coverage to an offense lacking punch without Christian McCaffrey.
For their eighth straight visit, the 49ers lost to the host Minnesota Vikings, a 23-17 decision that came after a flirtatious fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
“It was too sloppy on our part,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Two turnovers on offense, struggling on third down on offense and defense, special teams with a blocked punt is like a turnover. It was disappointing.”
The 49ers last won here in 1992, when Steve Young was at quarterback. Now, they are 1-1 for the fourth time in coach Kyle Shanahan’s eight seasons, unable to match the 2-0 starts that propelled their Super Bowl seasons in 2019 and ’23.
The 49ers play their first NFC West opponent next Sunday when they visit the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, where the 49ers have a much better history; the 49ers have won all four regular-season visits since SoFi opened in 2020, although they did lose the 2021 season’s NFC Championship Game.
Minnesota simply made more big plays this game than the 49ers – in all three phases.
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner made a bevy of plays to at least keep the 49ers close, from grabbing a first-half interception to forcing a goal-line fumble, as well as a tackle for loss, a third-down pass breakup and a fumble-forcing sack.
“That’s what gave us a chance,” Shanahan said of Warner’s two takeaways.
Warner didn’t bathe in teammates’ praise of his efforts, instead summing up their outing by saying: “Too many ‘My bads,’ too many ‘I’ll be better next time.’ Me included. We have to play more together as a team, play smarter football. The rest will take care of itself.”
Shanahan lamented the 49ers’ woes on third downs. Their offense converted 2-of-10 third-down plays, and 1-of-3 on fourth down. Defensively, the 49ers allowed the Vikings to convert on 7-of-12 third-down opportunities.
A day after putting McCaffrey on injured reserve because of Achilles tendinitis, the 49ers got solid production for a second straight start from Jordan Mason, but their offense clammed up too often and Brock Purdy committed a pair of second-half turnovers.
The 49ers’ closing quarter made things interesting despite some questionable choices. On third-and-1 from the 4-yard line, rather than call for a carry from 100-yard rusher Jordan Mason, the 49ers attempted a pass that was nearly intercepted before Deebo Samuel snagged the bobbling ball and allowed for a short field goal with 1:12 remaining.
After Jake Moody’s field goal, though, the Vikings recovered an onside kick and iced the game.
A fourth-and-goal throw from the 2-yard line in the first quarter backfired even more. That ended a scoreless 93-yard drive as Purdy’s was tipped at the line and fell short of Jauan Jennings’ grasp. Minnesota took that momentum and ran away toward a home-opening win.
“We felt we could have scored. I loved the aggressiveness by Kyle going for it,” Purdy said. “They had a blitz. One guy came free and, in our pass protection, that’s just how it is, and he tipped the ball. I was trying to give JJ a shot. That is where the ball is supposed to go in man (coverage). Thought I had it.”
Two plays later, that football soared through the air for 50 yards on the fly as Sam Darnold unleashed a pass from his own end zone and hit Justin Jefferson for a 97-yard touchdown past safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and George Odum to make it 10-0.
Darnold, Purdy’s backup last season, unleashed a second touchdown pass for a 20-7 lead in the third quarter. That 10-yard lob to Jalen Nailor came on a coverage snafu between Charvarius Ward and Brown. On the preceding snap, Purdy threw his first interception of the season.
The Vikings nearly made it a three-score ballgame until Warner rushed to the rescue, punching the ball from Aaron Jones’ grasp at the 2-yard line, with Isaac Yiadom recovering at the 1. A touchdown run by Mason capped the ensuing 12-play, 99-yard drive with 10:16 remaining.
Minnesota responded with a 14-play drive that took 6:46 off the clock and ended with a field goal to make it a two-score game.
The 49ers’ special teams had two terrible plays, starting with a blocked punt on their second series that led to a field goal and a 3-0 deficit. The 49ers escaped another turnover when rookie punt returner Jacob Cowing botched a fair catch at the 10-yard line before Yiadom recovered.
Mason finished with 100 yards on 20 carries for a strong encore from his starting debut in Monday’s season-opening win over the Jets. But the 49ers got no rushing help elsewhere, aside from Purdy’s 12 yards on two scrambles; Samuel lost 10 yards on two carries, and rookie Isaac Guerendo was stopped for no gain on his first and only career carry.
Purdy was sacked six times and when he did throw, he was 28-of-36 for 319 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble that appeared at first blush to be his second interception. Darnold was 17-of-26 for 268 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Jefferson racked up 133 yards on four catches before leaving with a quadriceps injury, which occurred on the same play Nick Bosa appeared to get dinged.
Purdy spread the ball around with his completions to Samuel (eight catches, 110 yards), Kittle (seven catches, 76 yards, touchdown), Brandon AIyuk (four catches, 43 yards), Jauan Jennings (two catches, 37 yards), Eric Sauber (two catches, 26 yards), and Kyle Juszczyk (three catches, 19 yards).
McCaffrey must miss at least three more games, and it’s unknown if he’ll require more time. “Nobody knows. We’re dealing with tendinitis. Not one person knows,” Shanahan said. “He doesn’t know. We don’t know. IR is four weeks and gives him time to rest and protect himself.”