MINNEAPOLIS – The struggles Sam Darnold endured through his first five years in the NFL relegated him to backup duty last season with San Francisco, yet another prospect failing to perform like a premium draft pick.
He's been quickly regaining his status in Minnesota.
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Darnold passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns against his former team, including a 97-yard strike in the second quarter to Justin Jefferson, and an actively attacking defense again fueled the Vikings in a 23-17 victory over the 49ers on Sunday.
“Sam has been making a whole bunch of great decisions. We’ve got to just keep trusting in him to make those decisions,” Jefferson said.
Chief among those smart choices was to join the Vikings, who needed a veteran to stabilize the offense before turning it over to rookie J.J. McCarthy — who suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
“The amount of work that goes into that position on your quarterback journey when everybody decides that you can not play — we always believed in him,” coach Kevin O'Connell said. “It felt awesome to watch him go do that thing."
Darnold went 17 for 26 with one interception for the Vikings (2-0), who got three field goals by rookie Will Reichard and had 146 rushing yards in their most productive (6.1 yards per attempt) ground game in nearly three years.
Blake Cashman had 13 tackles, three passes defensed and a sack and Patrick Jones II had two of the six sacks of Brock Purdy, who threw two interceptions and found himself playing from behind all game.
“We've got the players. We've got the scheme. We've got what it takes,” said Purdy, who went 28 for 36 for 319 yards. “It’s dropping back and executing and getting the ball into guys' hands.”
Overcoming two red zone turnovers that the 49ers (1-1) turned into touchdowns and a quadriceps injury that forced Jefferson out of the game in the third quarter, Darnold and the Vikings put on a show in his home debut after he backed up Purdy last season for the NFC champions.
But as far as a statement win by a team pegged for last place in the NFC North by most prognostications or a told-you-so performance by a quarterback on the scrap heap of public opinion, well, he's not there.
“I don’t get into narratives like that,” Darnold said. “I think the biggest thing for us is just continuing to take it one day at a time.”
Jordan Mason rushed 20 times for 100 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers in another fine fill-in for All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who will miss at least two more games with lower leg injuries.
The Vikings might well have won in a runaway were it not for Fred Warner, the three-time All-Pro linebacker who made his NFL debut for the 49ers in the season opener at Minnesota in 2018.
Warner, who finished with nine tackles and two passes defensed, made a diving interception at the San Francisco 10 to thwart a promising drive with the Vikings leading 10-0. The 49ers seized the momentum with a five-play march capped with a touchdown pass from Purdy to George Kittle.
Then in the fourth quarter with the Vikings ahead 20-7, Warner jarred the ball loose from Aaron Jones at the 1-yard line at the end of an 18-yard run.
Kittle had seven catches for 76 yards to post the third-most receiving yards (6,390) by a tight end in NFL history at the 100-game mark for his career. Rob Gronkowski (7,112) and Travis Kelce (6,762) were the only ones with more.
Try again
San Francisco lost for the eighth straight time in Minnesota, including for the second straight year after a 22-17 loss in Week 7 on a Monday night last season. The most recent win here was in 1992.
Ham it up
The Vikings set up their first field goal with a blocked punt by C.J. Ham, the ninth-year fullback and special teams stalwart. Theo Jackson scooped it up for a 37-yard return to the San Francisco 24.
Injuries
49ers: S Talanoa Hufanga (knee) missed a second straight game. His backup, Odum, was the last line of defense on Jefferson's TD. ... Coach Kyle Shanahan said “nobody knows” when McCaffrey will be back.
Vikings: WR Jordan Addison (ankle) was inactive after getting injured in the game last week. ... Rookie OLB Dallas Turner left with a knee injury that wasn't deemed serious, O'Connell said.
Up next
49ers: Visit the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday. The 49ers had a 10-game regular-season winning streak against their division rival, excluding the NFC championship game in 2021-22, that ended with a 21-20 loss to the Rams on Jan. 7, 2024. That was Darnold's only start for the 49ers.
Vikings: Host Houston on Sept. 22. They're 5-0 all time against the Texans.
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