The 49ers have their first road game of the season on Sunday when they face the Vikings.
Fresh off a 32-19 victory over the New York Jets, the San Francisco 49ers are playing in their first road game of the season on Sunday when they travel to face off against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
The two teams played against each other last season, with the Vikings upsetting the 49ers 22-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium on a Monday Night Football game.
Heading into the game, the 49ers are seen as 5.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, with the over/under placed at 46.5 points.
Here’s what you need to know about the 49ers’ opponent on Sunday.
Opponent Preview
The Vikings cruised to a 28-6 victory in their season opener, beating the New York Giants in blowout fashion.
Their offense stood out, with Sam Darnold completing nearly 80 percent of his passes, while Aaron Jones rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell is one of the top play-callers in the NFL, presenting an intriguing X’s and O’s matchup against new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
Defensively, Minnesota sacked quarterback Daniel Jones five times, while limiting the offense to just 240 total yards and generating two interceptions. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores dialed up the pressure with the blitz, which is something that Brock Purdy should certainly expect this week.
Keys to the Game
Stop Aaron Jones: The Minnesota Vikings looked good offensively in multiple ways, as Sam Darnold completed his first 12 passes, allowing the team to get an early 14-3 lead at halftime.
But, the big revelation was the efficiency of running back Aaron Jones, who nearly eclipsed the 100-yard mark in his Vikings debut, serving as the clear lead back for Minnesota.
Yes, it was against the Giants, but the performance was impressive nonetheless, and I expect the Vikings to ride Jones again in Week 2.
The 49ers defense had a strong performance to begin the season, holding running back Breece Hall to just 54 yards on 16 carries, with the defensive line looking stronger than effective in the ground game.
They’ll be tasked to do that once again, battling with a tough Minnesota offensive line that is led by star left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
If San Francisco can neutralize the run game like they did in Week 1, it makes things much tougher for O’Connell and the Vikings passing game.
Brock Purdy: The 49ers will most definitely look to move the football on the ground again with running back Jordan Mason, but quarterback Brock Purdy will be a key factor in this one without a doubt.
After a fairly good Week 1 performance where Purdy looked sharp after a slower start, the 49ers quarterback faces a different challenge against defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is prone to blitzing at a high level.
Now, Purdy has historically done well against the blitz and did so when he faced Flores and the Vikings defense last year, but that’ll be an important aspect of Sunday’s game.
Purdy will not have Christian McCaffrey as his reliable checkdown weapon, but the 49ers still have all of their main weapons at their disposal, with Brandon Aiyuk getting another week of preparation as well as he works back to game speed.
He’ll need to be sharp with decision making against a Flores-led defense, but history is on his side and Purdy works very well when it comes to timing. He’ll be crucial for a comfortable 49ers victory in Week 2.
Turnovers: I mentioned turnovers last week, and they turned out to be a key aspect of San Francisco’s win over the Jets.
The fumble by Breece Hall led to San Francisco’s first points of the game, as they kicked a field goal, while the Aaron Rodgers interception was followed by another field goal, pushing the 49ers lead to 26-7.
The 49ers were clean in the turnover department offensively, scoring on eight straight possessions, and they’ll get a big opportunity to win the battle in Week 2.
Minnesota had two turnovers in Week 1, a fumble and an interception, but the Giants got just three points off the two opportunities. San Francisco will need to not only create the turnovers, but be better with those opportunities and convert some of those field goals into touchdowns.
They’re very familiar with Sam Darnold, with Deommodore Lenoir joking earlier this week that he used to catch interceptions from the former 49ers backup all the time last year, and should be able to generate some turnover chances on the inconsistent quarterback.