Can the Vikings pull off a home upset over San Francisco for the second straight year?
The Vikings’ season-opening shellacking of the Giants was impressive, but this is the week we find out if Kevin O’Connell’s team is for real. The defending NFC champions, the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers, are coming to U.S. Bank Stadium to provide a much more formidable challenge.
Last year, the Vikings upset the 49ers in this same building on Monday Night Football, extending their home winning streak in the series to seven games. Can they do it again? It’s going to take a very strong performance in all three phases from Minnesota against one of the best rosters the NFL has to offer. They’ll need another efficient outing from Sam Darnold and some big plays from Brian Flores’ veteran-laden defense.
Christian McCaffrey’s uncertain injury status looms large ahead of Sunday’s game. The Vikings will be without Jordan Addison, who was huge against the 49ers last season, but they’ll have Justin Jefferson this time around.
A Vegas line that opened at SF -6 has gone down to SF -5 over the week. Will the Vikings pull off another upset in their home opener? Our Vikings On SI writers have made their picks.
Will Ragatz: Vikings 24, 49ers 23
I’m doing it. I’m buying into the hype of what I saw in Week 1, even while taking into account that the Giants are a bad football team. Darnold looked poised and confident in his first game operating O’Connell’s offense, Aaron Jones looked like a difference-maker, and Flores’ defense looked like a legitimate top-8 unit in the league. Yes, the task gets much tougher this week, but I think this is a tightly-contested game. Behind a big Jalen Nailor performance and a clutch Will Reichard field goal, the Vikings get it done and move to 2-0.
Nolan O’Hara: 49ers 27, Vikings 17
The Vikings took care of business against the Giants in Week 1. So did the 49ers, who handily beat the Jets even without Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey may not play again this week, but Jordan Mason proved to be a more-than-capable backup who won’t make things easy on the Vikings. While the Vikings might be better than everyone thought, the 49ers have shown time and time again why they’re among the league’s best teams.
Joe Nelson: Vikings 33, 49ers 27
It’s only Week 2 but you can already feel the heavy vibes ahead of this showdown. While the 49ers know they are the real deal, the Vikings are in a position to show the world that they are in the conversation among the NFL elites. I expect the 49ers to come out swinging and the Vikings to punch back. This will be a heavyweight fight and the home team is going to come out on top in a thriller.
Jonathan Harrison: 49ers 27, Vikings 20
Sam Darnold absolutely impressed in Week 1. However, he’ll be up against it this Sunday when he takes on his former team. Without Jordan Addison, things certainly get trickier for Darnold and the Vikings’ offense. The Vikings’ defense had a very strong game against the hapless Giants, but the 49ers, with a plethora of weapons and the best playcaller in the league, are a completely different story. Minnesota will keep it close but ultimately the 49ers are just too good.
Tony Liebert: 49ers 23, Vikings 20
The Vikings will carry momentum from their Week 1 win into their home opener against the 49ers and give the defending NFC champions all they can handle, but San Francisco’s plethora of playmakers will be too much for Minnesota to handle. The 49ers will pull away with a late field goal and leave Minneapolis with a victory.
Here are last week’s predictions. Season records for our pickers:
Will: 1-0
Joe: 1-0
Nolan: 1-0
Jonathan: 1-0
Tony: 0-1
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/vikings/ as Vikings-49ers Week 2 score predictions from the Vikings On SI staff.