What We Learned About the Minnesota Vikings in Their Huge Week Two Victory Over the 49ers

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NFL: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings vs San Francisco 49ers was one of the most lopsidedly bet NFL matchups on the week two slate, with around 90% of all bets being placed on the 4.5 point favorite Niners.

But that’s not how things played out, on the field. Nobody believed in the Vikings, after they stomped on the New York Giants in week one, and oddsmakers took advantage. Sunday’s contest vs the defending Super Bowl runner-ups was all purple, all the time.

Had they not turned the ball over twice in the red zone, the game would have been as good as done, before it ever reached the fourth quarter. Instead, It ended as a one-score 23-17 victory that felt way too close, all the way to the end.

Here’s what we learned about the Minnesota Vikings, in Sunday’s dub over the San Francisco 49ers.

1. Brian Flores’ 2024 defense is for real

One of the biggest unknowns, entering the 2024 Vikings season, was on defense. Nobody doubted how good of a defensive coordinator Brian Flores was. His head coaching abilities… that’s another question. But, in his second season as Minnesota’s DC, it was impossible to know what his new crew would provide, given all of the fresh faces.

Those questions were answered, in part, during week one when the Vikings held the Giants offense to zero touchdowns. But again, that was a much different team than who was coming to U.S Bank Stadium in week two.

But Flores’ group looked every bit as hungry and active vs the Niners, as they did vs the G-Men. All day long, Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan exchanged jabs with the Vikings defense, but over and over again, it was Flores’ crew that came out on top, holding the Niners to just 7 points through three quarters.

Andrew Van Ginkel (4 TKL, 1 SK, 2 TFL, 1 PD), Blake Cashman (13 TKL, 1 SK, 3 PD) and Patrick Jones Jr (5 TKL, 2 SK) were everywhere, disrupting all of the plans San Fran had offensively. The defense bent, at times, but rarely ever broke.

The same cannot be said for Purdy, who proved why he is a good NFL quarterback. He made huge throws throughout this game and finished with an impressive statline: 28-of-36, 319 yards and 1 touchdown.

Related: Old Friend Picks Vikings to Beat 49ers

But in the end, he couldn’t beat Flores, who stunted just about every attempt the Niners made to score a touchdown, including a 4th quarter drive they needed, in order to keep the game alive.

2. Sam Darnold won’t hold the Minnesota Vikings back

Sam Darnold, Kevin O'Connell : San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

One Minnesota Vikings player who, yet again, proved his worth in week one, was new QB Sam Darnold. After he too came up big in the Big Apple, the NFL world demanded more. Beating up on the worse of the two New York teams wasn’t enough.

So in week two, Sam Darnold had to come out and show them again. And while he may not be the next NFL MVP, or even as good of a quarterback as what we had with Kirk Cousins, the former USC great solidified one thing on Sunday, without a doubt.

Related: 49ers Called Vikings About Justin Jefferson Trade

He is absolutely good enough. The Vikings will need Brian Flores’ defense to continue to play well. They will need Aaron Jones to run successfully, and the OL to stay in-tact. But as long as he has the pieces around him, Sam Darnold will NOT be the reason why the Minnesota Vikings don’t succeed in 2024.

He can make all of the throws, and has plenty of poise. The former No. 3 overall pick proved that again vs the Niners. Not only did Sam go 17-of-26 for 268 yards and a 2 touchdowns, but he made a couple of absolutely beautiful throws, including this one to Justin Jefferson.

And when the Vikings needed him to make a couple of big time plays in the 4th quarter, after the Niners pulled the score within one possession, Darnold did just that, hitting Jalen Nailor on a must-have 3rd and long, then Brandon Powell on another third down, closer to the goalline.

We may not be able to count on Sam to carry this team to victory week in, and week out, but he certainly showed everyone this afternoon that he can be that guy, when called upon.

3. Special Teams matter

The final thing we learned from Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings victory is that special teams matters. Often glossed over as an aspect of American football that nobody cares about, we found out this afternoon just how important winning the special teams battle is.

Let’s start with the obvious one. The Vikings’ blocked a punt in the 1st quarter that completely swung early momentum into the home team’s favor. It resulted in a Will Reichard field goal, but the damage went beyond points. From this moment forward, the San Francisco 49ers looked rattled.

But let’s not gloss over Will Reichard’s contribution today. As Minnesota Vikings fans, nobody understands better than we do, just how much of a luxury a knock-down deadeye kicker is for a football team. Yes, both of his field goals on Sunday were chip shots, but that hasn’t always mattered.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Want to Run Up the Score

With Will, though, both kicks went right down the middle, just like they should. So did all three of the extra points he kicked. We are only a couple games into his NFL career, but it’s pretty obvious we have something special in Will Reichard.

When the dust settled on today’s Minnesota Vikings victory, we learned one thing for sure. This team is for real.

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