U.S. Bank Stadium is a glass house of horrors for the 49ers.
Back-to-back seasons, the Niners have visited Minneapolis to play the Vikings.
And in back-to-back seasons, they’ve now lost.
Sunday’s 23-17 failure was littered with poor play from San Francisco and excellent coaching and execution from the Vikings, who should have run away with this game, if not for the opportunistic play of Niners’ linebacker Fred Warner.
It’s a gut-check game for the 49ers, who play the Rams in L.A. in Week 3.
Here were the studs and duds of a dud of a contest.:
Fred Warner • LB
» His performance on Monday night was one of the finest you’ll ever see from a linebacker.
Sunday’s performance was even better.
Warner’s interception and forced fumble were the only reason the Niners had any chance in this game. He was truly unbelievable against the Vikings.
It’s not enough to just call him an All-Pro. He’s a Hall of Fame player.
Jordan Mason • RB
» Another exceptional game for the player who was a third-string running back at the start of training camp. The system helps, yes, but you can’t teach that kind of power, vision, and burst. He’s a special player.
Deebo Samuel • WR
» As quarterback Brock Purdy looked like Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday, he found Deebo Samuel again and again. Eight catches for 110 yards, with a couple of otherworldly catches. With Christian McCaffrey out, Samuel has to be the primary option in the 49ers’ offense.
George Kittle • TE
» Whatever was in that IV he received, I want some.
Kittle was immense as a blocker and pass catcher on Sunday, going for 76 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. He’s still the best in the game, and the 49ers looked lost when he wasn’t on the field.
Nick Bosa • DE
» A menace, even against solid tackle play. He registered two sacks in the game and was great against the run, again. If only there was someone opposite him that could take advantage of his hard work.
Brock Purdy • QB
» The offensive line did him few favors, and he had some big-time throws in this game, but he was anything but incisive in this contest and was forcing the ball into coverage again and again.
The Vikings’ consistent and dynamic pressure on the defenisve line had the young quarterback flustered. He’s now 0-3 against the two defensive coordinators known for that kind of defense — Minnesota’s Brian Flores and then-Baltimore DC (now Seattle head coach) Mike MacDonald.
I imagine many more defensive coordinators will be trying to replicate those attacks in the weeks and months to come. It’s on Purdy to prove he can beat it. With two picks (I count the second turnover as an interception), he didn’t Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan and Nick Sorensen • HC and DC
» The Niners’ offensive and defensive coordinators were outfoxed by their counterparts on Sunday. It’s on the players to execute, yes, but it took simply too long for the Niners’ offense to realize that the Vikings’ corners were susceptible to simple whip routes. Meanwhile, the Niners’ defense had bad personnel calls in big spots, and it flipped a game that shouldn’t have been close, if not for Fred Warner.
Ji’Ayir Brown • FS
» Caught with his hand in the cookie jar, again. Last week, Brown’s hesitation at the safety position resulted in a free-play Allen Lazard touchdown.
This week, it was even more calamitous as Justin Jefferson scampered 97 yards — the final 50 on the ground — to the end zone.
The 49ers are trying to shift back to a Cover 3 system. That requires a free safety with outstanding instincts, as he is the singular last line of defense. Brown might have that kind of potential, but through two games, he hasn’t shown the ability, and a great quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and offensive coordinator (Kevin O’Connell) have attacked it to six points of success.
This will be a trend week-in, week-out.
George Odum • SS
» Yes, the 49ers’ other safety, who stood no chance when matched up one-on-one with Jefferson on the 97-yard touchdown, but was also part of a disastrous troika that allowed a first-quarter blocked punt.
Was it any surprise that rookie Malik Mustafa saw playing time from the second quarter onwards?
Jake Brendel • C
» He was really good in the run game, but he is being owned in pass protection. And there’s no nuance to that statement — he’s ending up snap after snap sitting on the ground. It’s untenable.=
Aaron Banks • LG
» The only people who truly know what the protections are on the offensive line are the players on the field and the coaches with headsets. Actually, scratch that first part, because there were multiple occasions on Sunday where it appeared that Banks was running a different play than the rest of the Niners’ offensive line.
Unless San Francisco’s front five suddenly became an avant-garde unit, Banks was missing assignments. His block to the right, leaving the B gap open, on the 49ers’ near-goal line fourth-down attempt in the first half (which failed to convert) allowed pressure into Purdy’s face, rushing a throw that Andrew Van Ginkel was able to bat down on the edge.
De’Vondre Campbell • LB
» If Kevin O’Connell wasn’t putting the Niners’ safeties in a blender, he was attacking Campbell, who did little to discourage him from the notion. If Fred Warner wasn’t the best linebacker in the game, this would have loomed much, much larger in the game.
Leonard Floyd • DE
» Did you notice him? I only did because I’m a sicko who watches to see if the Niners can get a defensive end to set an edge. Floyd was only able to do that because he was consistently getting stood up by the Vikings (admittedly strong) tackles. It’s time for more Yetur Gross-Matos in all situations.
