Minnesota has been a tough place for the San Francisco 49ers for many years.
The Niners’ eighth straight loss in Minnesota resembled their defeat from the previous year. The Vikings confused Brock Purdy with their defensive pressure and took advantage of the San Francisco defense with a big passing play.
This led to a 23-17 win for the Vikings on Sunday, leaving the 49ers still searching for their first win in Minnesota since 1992. It was a major disappointment following their season-opening win against the New York Jets.
“It’s a wake-up call but we know why it happened,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “There’s a lot to fix.”
San Francisco’s (1-1) issues were evident in every part of the game.
They had a special teams mistake in the first half; the defense allowed a 97-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson and had trouble stopping the Vikings on third downs; and the offense only scored 17 points for the second year in a row against coordinator Brian Flores’ defense.
Purdy seemed uneasy throughout the game as he struggled with the Vikings’ intense blitz, especially without his top option, All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey, who was injured.
“That’s what the point of the scheme is,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It’s to have six guys up on the line and come from everywhere. So it’s just a lot of pressure on a quarterback throughout a game. That’s what their scheme is. … It makes it really tough to get into a rhythm.”
