49ers Upended by Vikes in Monday Night Upset

Week 7 - The lingering taste of defeat for the first time this season would last an extra day longer for the (5-1) San Francisco 49ers who after suffering a loss against the Browns in Cleveland, had to wait until Monday Night Football to clear their pallet in hopes of redeeming themselves as they paid a visit to Minnesota to face the (2-4) Vikings. While the 49ers offense can be described as a cocktail made up of all of the finest top-shelf ingredients when healthy, receiver Deebo Samuel could be thought of as the straw that stirs the drink. That straw would be missing as Kyle Shanahan's offense would be without Samuel who is currently sidelined for at least three weeks with a hairline fracture in his shoulder. Appearing lost at times on offense in last week's loss to the Browns after Samuel left the game following the team's opening-drive, the 49ers went on to put up their fewest amount of total yards under coach Shanahan with just 215. The 49er offense would struggle again under the bright lights of Monday Night Football without one of their biggest playmakers. Seeking their first win in Minnesota since 1992, San Francisco's dominant defense was anything but on Monday night. 

Things looked promising to start the game for the Niners before enduring a series of mistakes that would prove to be costly. Vikings running back Alexander Mattison ripped off a 19-yard carry on Minnesota's first play from scrimmage for his longest rush of the season. But two plays later, the 49ers would have the opposition right where they wanted them as cornerback Charvarius Ward came up with an interception after winning a fight for the ball from Vikings rookie receiver Jordan Addison. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy would come out guns blazing for the San Francisco offense, distributing the ball to a variety of targets by tossing completions of 10, 11 and 9 yards to George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings, respectively, before the struggles ensued. Niners running back Christian McCaffrey who was questionable to appear in Monday's game not only got the start, but scored two touchdowns. Before finding the end zone later on, McCaffrey would cough up a fumble that cost his team valuable points inside the red zone. Capitalizing on the turnover, the Vikings would march 89-yards down the field to score the game's first points with a touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins. 

With Cousins the subject of trade rumors, the Vikings signal-caller would increase his stock drastically despite entering the game with an all-time record of 2-10 on Monday Night Football. In spite of his poor numbers in primetime throughout his career, Cousins would register one of his best games yet considering his opponent. Even without his best target in wideout Justin Jefferson who is on Injured Reserve due to a hamstring injury, Cousins shined against one of his biggest fans and former offensive coordinators in 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan as the two spent two seasons in Washington together during their time with the Redskins. Sparking his stellar performance was the early touchdown to Addison who would go on to have a career night of his own. The touchdown would mark the first 1st quarter touchdown of the season by the Minnesota offense as well as the first 1st quarter touchdown surrendered by the 49er defense all season. San Francisco would find themselves in rare territory, marking the first time this season that the opposition scored first in a game against them. 

Looking to answer, the 49er offense got within field goal range on their ensuing possession, but rookie kicker Jake Moody who missed two field goals in last week's loss including a potential game-winner in the final seconds, missed another field goal in the first quarter from 40-yards out. With Minnesota adding a field goal of their own one possession later to take a 10-0 lead, San Francisco appeared to be headed into the locker room at the half with some momentum following a 3-yard rushing touchdown from McCaffrey with just over a minute remaining before halftime. Instead, Cousins and the Vikings offense dealt a blow to any sort of momentum shift in favor of the 49ers as the Minnesota QB connected on another touchdown to the aforementioned Addison. Redeeming himself from having the ball pried away from his hands on the Vikings' first possession, Addison was able to fight off Ward and outwrestle him for the ball before springing loose for the 60-yard score with just seconds to spare before the half. 

Instead of receiving the ball at the half and trailing by only a field goal, Brock Purdy and the 49er offense suddenly found themselves in a 9-point hole that would only get worse before it got better. After opening the second half with a punt on offense by the 49ers, the Vikings would add another field goal to increase their lead to 19-7, San Francisco's largest deficit of the season. Making quick work of their next possession, however, Purdy and company needed only three plays from scrimmage to strike back with McCaffrey finding the end zone for his second time of the night. After a rushing touchdown earlier in the first half, McCaffrey added a 35-yard receiving touchdown to make it a one-score game. It would also be McCaffrey's 16th consecutive game with a scrimmage touchdown (including playoffs), setting a new NFL record. With the Vikings adding another field goal to their lead before the end of the third quarter, the 49ers entered the fourth trailing, 22-14. In need of all the points they could get, San Francisco added a field goal from Moody who redeemed himself a bit with a booming 55-yarder to inch his team closer. 

In desperate need of a stop on defense, San Francisco forced the first Vikings punt of the game in the fourth quarter. A week after giving his team a chance to kick a walk-off field goal before things went south, Purdy was given another chance pull off a comeback victory in the fourth quarter. Things were looking up as the Niners made their way to midfield, but that's as far as they would get on the drive as an errant pass sailed on Juaun Jennings for an interception. After a missed field goal attempt by Vikings kicker Greg Joseph kept it a 22-17 lead, Purdy would get one final chance with 1:11 remaining in regulation. After making it into enemy territory with a pair of strikes to receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, Purdy overthrew a ball to McCloud that was also intercepted, sealing the upset win for Minnesota and giving Purdy his first career multi-interception game. While the 49er offense was far from great, the loss was attributed to the San Francisco defense's inability to get off the field on third downs as they were carved alive by Cousins virtually all night long on third down and were unsuccessful in getting to the quarterback, failing to log a single sack. 

Cousins completed 35 of 45 passes and threw for 378 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in the win. Meanwhile, his counterpart Brock Purdy threw for 272 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, completing 21 of 30 pass attempts. Vikings rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison logged a career-high 123 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns to lead all players. 

Week 8 Preview: Suddenly the bye week can't some soon enough for the (5-2) 49ers who appear to be limping their way to finish line. Having lost two straight after a 5-0 start to the season, Brock Purdy and company will look to get back in the win column as they return home to face Joe Burrow and the (3-3) Cincinnati Bengals. Coming off a bye of their own, the Bengals who have won two straight after a disappointing 1-3 start, will look to add to San Francisco's misery as they've had a full week to prepare for them. With a lingering calf injury to blame for Burrow's slow start, the former Heisman Trophy winner has looked a little better as the season's progressed, but he's still been a far cry from the Burrow we've grown accustomed to seeing playing at a Pro Bowl level. The San Francisco defense will look to get back on track with a bounce back performance in front of the Faithful at Levi's Stadium. As for the offense, they might be without Brock Purdy who's been in the league's concussion protocol that has limited his practice time all week. If he doesn't progress, expect to see backup Sam Darnold under center for the first time as the 49ers starter. 

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49ers Win 3rd straight with Victory over Vikes

Week 12 - On the heels of their first winning streak since opening the season 2-0, the San Francisco 49ers would play host to a Minnesota Vikings team coming off a statement win at home against the rival Green Bay Packers. In a battle between two teams with playoff aspirations and identical 5-5 records, the team that prevailed on Sunday would have one leg up on the other in the fight for the NFC's second Wild Card spot. All things considered, both teams knew that a win wouldn't come easy. With both quarterbacks having played their best ball of the season over the last few weeks entering Sunday, neither QB would steal the show at Levi's Stadium as we saw the good and the ugly from both Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo. For San Francisco's Jimmy G, the ugly came rather early.

After the 49ers defense forced a three and out on Minnesota's opening-drive, Kyle Shanahan's offense appeared to have something brewing as they made it to midfield following a big reception in traffic by Jauan Jennings. But another risky pass in traffic just several plays later would prove costly for Garoppolo as his pass was intercepted. Taking advantage of the early turnover, Cousins and company would punch their ticket into the end zone with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen on 4th and goal. It wouldn't be long before the game turned into the Deebo Samuel show on their ensuing possession as San Francisco turned to their biggest playmaker on offense. After a big play by receiver Brandon Aiyuk who turned in a 37-yard gain, Samuel helped the 49ers answer with a 20-yard touchdown run to tie the game up at 7-all. With the touchdown, Deebo Samuel would become just the third receiver in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games and the first ever to accomplish the feat in the same season since the start of the Super Bowl era. Though his day would be far from over. 

After both teams exchanged punts, the Vikings found the end zone again with Thielen at the forefront. Sneaking past the defense once again, Thielen was left all alone for the 20-yard touchdown, his second of the half, marking the first time in his career with two touchdowns in the first half. Looking to end the first half on a high-note, the 49ers would put together another long Kyle Shanahan patented drive on offense, marching 87-yards on 19-plays and eating up 8-minutes and 20-seconds in the process. The end result being a dart from Garoppolo to Jennings for a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14. With only 18-seconds remaining, the 49er offense would leave little to no time for Cousins to work with as the first half came to a close. Receiving the ball to start the second half, the 49ers would be right back in business thanks to another big play by Deebo. A 49-yard run by San Francisco's Swiss army knife, would set things up inside the red zone. Rewarding Deebo for his efforts, Shanahan would dial up another run play that resulted in his second score of the game, this time a 3-yard touchdown. With their first lead of the day, on top 21-14, San Francisco was poised to tack on more. 

One play into Minnesota's ensuing possession, Cousins would throw a rare interception as his pass intended for Thielen was picked off by Azeez Al-Shaair and nearly taken to the house before he was tripped up at the 2-yardline following a 24-yard return. The Niners would waste no time cashing in on the takeaway and Cousins' third interception on the year, as running back Elijah Mitchell walked it into the end zone on the very next play. After a relatively quiet first half from the Minnesota rushing attack as they finished with 25 or fewer first half rushing yards for second week in a row, Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook began to wake up. A 30-yard run on the first play of Minnesota's ensuing drive, followed by a 24-yard catch and run a few plays later, both by Cook, backup running back Alexander Mattison picked up the pieces with the 6-yard rushing touchdown on the next play. However, the Vikings would come up short on the point-after as kicker Greg Joseph's extra-point attempt sailed wide right. San Francisco would make it a two-possession game with a field goal on their next drive, but again the Vikings came right back with a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown from Kene Nwangwu. With one kick return for a touchdown already under his belt this year, Nwangwu would be the first return man with two on the season, this one inching his team closer. But a failed two-point conversion would leave the Niners with a 31-26 lead. 

After having to punt, the 49ers would get a gift on a Dalvin Cook fumble as the Vikings running back was met in the backfield by San Francisco's Kevin Givens who knocked the ball loose, recovered by the defense. Unfortunately, Cook would need to be carted off the field as he left the game with an upper-body injury. Oddly enough, Deebo Samuel would be injured on the very next play, also in the backfield on a handoff that ended in a 6-yard loss. The air would be sucked out of the home crowd at Levi's Stadium momentarily before Deebo walked to the sideline under his own power where he would watch the rest of the game as a spectator. Adding to their lead with a field goal, San Francisco would go ahead 34-26. Minnesota would have a chance to tie the game as they were knocking on the door of another touchdown, but were stood up at the 3-yard line as Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer gambled for a second time on 4th and goal, but came up short. With a chance to ice the game and take an 11-point advantage, the 49ers marched for 7-minutes and 8-seconds, running 13-plays and traveling 67-yards before a missed field goal by kicker Robbie Gould from 42-yards out. As the kick drifted wide right, the Vikings would have one last chance to pull off the comeback. 

With no timeouts left and just under two-minutes remaining, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins would need to orchestrate a 68-yard, touchdown-scoring drive, as well as a successful two-point conversion attempt to tie the game. And while things would look rather promising after a 23-yard connection to receiver Justin Jefferson, incompletions on three of Cousins' next four passes would spell doom as the 49er defense held on and forced Minnesota to turn the ball over on downs. Kneeling the ball for the last two plays, San Francisco held on for the much needed 34-26 victory to improve their record to 6-5 on the season and into sole possession of the NFC's second Wild Card spot. Stealing the show on offense and breaking more records on Sunday was Deebo Samuel. After becoming the first wide-receiver in 49ers franchise history with 1+ rushing touchdowns in three straight games since at least 1950, Deebo became the first WR in the Super Bowl era with 2 rushing touchdowns in a game. With 5 rushing touchdowns on the season, Deebo Samuel surpassed Tavon Austin's mark of 4 rushing touchdowns in 2015, setting a record for the most rushing touchdowns in a season by a wide receiver in NFL history. But the biggest stat of them all might be his receiving yards. Though he only caught one ball on Sunday for 12-yards, Deebo eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards plateau, becoming the first WR in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards, 5 receiving TDs and 5 rushing TDs in a season. Oh, and he also became the first 49ers WR with 1,000+ receiving yards in a season since Anquan Boldin in 2014. 

49ers running back Elijah Mitchell also made an impact in Sunday's game, compiling a career-high in scrimmage yards with 168, including 133 of them on the ground, as he and Deebo combined for 199 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries. With four games of 100+ rush yards on the season now, Mitchell made some history of his own by surpassing Billy Kilmer (1961) for the most games of 100+ rush yards by a 49ers rookie since 1950. Not bad for a guy playing with a fractured finger. As for the quarterbacks, both Jimmy Garoppolo (230 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) and Kirk Cousins (238 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception) finished with similar stat lines in the passing department. San Francisco's Brandon Aiyuk led all receivers in receiving yards with 91 on 3 receptions. 

Week 13 Preview: Unfortunately, the 49ers win on Sunday did come at the expense of a few losses as both Deebo Samuel (groin) and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner (hamstring) suffered injuries that will keep them off the field for their Week 13 visit up north to face the division rival Seattle Seahawks (3-8). With Warner out for one game and Samuel possibly out for the next two, the 49ers will need to keep pace in the playoff race and try to avenge their Week 4 loss to Seattle without two of their biggest pieces. Coming off a road loss on Monday Night Football to the Washington Football Team, Pete Carroll's Seahawks are spiraling out of control and have lost six of their last seven games since handing the 49ers a loss at Levi's. With three of those games without QB Russell Wilson under center, Seattle is riding a three-game skid with their leader back on the field. Nothing would help No. 3 get off the schneide more than a win at home against San Francisco. Hopefully, Jimmy G and company can put a stop to that as the Niners eye their fourth straight win and first in Seattle since the goal-line stand that decided the division back in 2019. 

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49ers to Host NFC Championship after Handling Vikings

NFC Divisional - Hosting their first ever playoff game in the six-year history of Levi's Stadium, the NFC's no. 1 seeded San Francisco 49ers put on a show and pulled off the win in dominant fashion in their first home playoff game since 2012. Facing off against the No. 6 seeded Minnesota Vikings who were coming off an upset win on the road against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, the dominant 49er defense proved to be too much for Minnesota's offense on Saturday. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was held in check virtually all afternoon long by a well rested San Francisco defense that received a week off thanks to the first-round BYE that saw the return of several key players. Having not won consecutive playoff games since 1987 when a No. 5 seeded Vikings team knocked off the No. 1 seeded 49ers on their way to an NFC Championship appearance, Kyle Shanahan made sure his team would not suffer a similar fate or be the ones that Minnesota ended that skid against.

Coming into the game, all the talk revolved around whether or not 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo could be trusted in what would be his first career start in the playoffs. As if Cousins who was coming off his first win in the postseason in two career starts, had some over the top advantage over his counterpart. And after a three and out forced by the San Francisco defense, Garoppolo would waste little time to prove that his postseason experience or lack thereof would be a non-factor as he completed 5-of-6 passes while hitting four different receivers during their opening-drive that ended in a touchdown pass to his favorite red zone target in Kendrick Boune. The Vikings would answer quickly with a touchdown of their own when 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon who has struggled mightily in the second half of the season, continued to have issues in coverage as he was beaten badly on two plays and penalized for pass-interference on another. But none worse than the 41-yard touchdown he surrendered on a pass to Stefon Diggs as Witherspoon fell to the ground, allowing his man to walk into the end zone for the easy score. With the game tied at 7-7 and Witherspoon clearly a liability in coverage, Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh made the decision to bench Witherspoon the rest of the game in favor of his backup Emmanuel Moseley.

Both teams would exchange punts before San Francisco made a second trip to the end zone on a touchdown by running back Tevin Coleman. Setup by a pair of big plays by Deebo Samuel, Coleman sprung forward for the go-ahead touchdown. Looking to add to their lead following another Vikings three and out, Garoppolo's lone mistake on the afternoon would come in the form of an interception as he was picked off by Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks. Taking over in the red zone, Cousins and company would again fail to get much of anything going and were forced to settle for a field goal. Hanging onto a 14-10 lead at the half, the 49ers would turn things up on defense and pitch a shutout in the second half. Opening the third quarter with the first of two Robbie Gould field goals on the afternoon, San Francisco's Richard Sherman would come up with his third career postseason interception on third and long when he stepped in front of a Kirk Cousins pass intended for Vikings receiver Adam Thielen. Hoping to shake off his first career playoff interception, Cousins would fail to find an answer for San Francisco's defense the rest of the way as three of their next four possessions would end in three and out punts and the other two ending on turnover on downs.

Dialing up eight consecutive run plays on offense following the Sherman interception, Tevin Coleman would find the end zone again to become the first 49er with two rushing touchdowns in a playoff game since Frank Gore in 2013. With one last field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to increase their lead to 17-points, the 49er defense would do the rest as a sack party would ensue. Niner defensive-end Dee Ford who might've benefited most from the BYE week and returned to the field after missing five of the last six games due to a hamstring injury, was one of five players to record a sack, with rookie sensation Nick Bosa leading the way with two quarterback sacks on the day. Having already been named to the Pro Bowl and the odds on favorite to win this year's Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, Bosa becomes the first 49ers rookie to tally two sacks in a playoff game since Dana Stubblefield in 1993. Helping his team set a franchise playoff-best with only 147 total yards allowed, the 49er defense smothered their way to a 27-10 victory and held Vikings running back Dalvin Cook to only 18 yards rushing on nine carries. Meanwhile, Niners running back Tevin Coleman rushed for 105 yards on 22 attempts. Completing 21 of 29 pass attempts, Cousins threw for 172 yards compared to Garoppolo's 131, but threw the ball ten more times and needed ten more completions than his counterpart. While it was a rather pedestrian performance in the passing game for Garoppolo, the dominant defense and efficient rushing attack was plentiful to secure the win over Minnesota which gave the 49ers five wins in six playoff meetings against the Vikings, all of which in the Divisional-round which sets a record for the most wins vs a team in one playoff round.

NFC Championship Preview - The San Francisco 49ers will be making their first trip to the NFC Championship since 2013 when the team made it to three consecutive NFC title games under head coach Jim Harbaugh and their first time hosting since 2012. Standing in between the 49ers and a trip to Miami is Aaron Rodgers and the No.2 seed Green Bay Packers. After serving up a 37-8 beating on Sunday Night Football back in Week 12 which saw one of the worst games statistically of Rodgers' career, Shanahan and the 49ers know that what happened in the Week 12 blowout victory means little to nothing heading into this one, with the exception of what they know they need to do in order to punch their ticket to Super Bowl XLIV. Having grown up a huge 49er fan in nearby Chico, California, the future Hall of Fame quarterback Rodgers is not to be taken lightly and has his sights on revenge for both the earlier meeting this season and the two Divisional-round losses the 49ers have served him in the past. Since their Week 12 loss to San Francisco, the Packers, who like the Niners finished the regular season 13-3, have not lost a game. One way the 49er defense can change that is by duplicating what they did in the previous match-up when they held Rodgers in check on third down (0-for-10) and prevented him from completing a single pass beyond 10-yards. Despite escaping with a few close wins, Green Bay has been rolling ever since their last trip to Levi's and will be seeking, "redemption" as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur described it during his post-game speech in the team locker room following their close 28-23 win at Lambeau over the Seattle Seahawks.

Spread - According to Las Vegas sportsbooks and odds makers, San Francisco opens as 7-point favorites with the over/under at 45.


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Vikes Hand Garoppolo, 49ers First Loss

Week 1 - Football season is back! With the NFL's 2018 regular season officially underway following Thursday Night's opener between NFC heavyweights Atlanta Falcons and the the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers would see their first action on Sunday morning in a road match-up with the Minnesota Vikings. Given the daunting task of opening the season in hostile territory against the league's best defense from a year ago and a team looking to bounce back after being on the receiving end of a 38-7 beat down in their own home in last year's NFC title game, the 49ers would surely have their work cutout for them in Week 1 if they wanted to keep their new starting quarterback's record unblemished. As if defeating a Vikings team at home where they won all but one of their eight regular season games from a season ago wasn't challenging enough, the Niners who entered Sunday with the league's best active regular season winning-streak at five games, have lost each of their last five visits to Minnesota. Of course none of those defeats came with Garoppolo under center who the 49er faithful are hoping can serve as their savior the same way he did down the stretch to closeout 2017 when he led them on that magical five-game journey.

Having allowed a measly 10-points or fewer in five of their last seven regular season games dating back to last season, the stingy Vikings defense would look to carry that streak into 2018 and had other plans for Jimmy G and the streaking 49ers. And though San Francisco would eclipse the 10-point mark, they were unable to end their Minnesota skid as the Vikings defense gave Garoppolo his first taste of defeat as he suffered the first loss of his professional career in a 24-16 final, bringing his record to 7-1 as a starter. The 49ers had plenty of opportunities on offense and even had a chance to march down the field and tie the game in the final minutes, but were ultimately doomed by the myriad of self-inflicted miscues on both sides of the ball made throughout the game. And though his teammates didn't do him any favors either, from his receivers dropping passes to the guys on defense missing tackles, where Garoppolo made mistakes, his counterpart did not. Excited to show off their new toy on offense, the recently acquired Kirk Cousins enjoyed an impressive Vikings debut at QB in which he didn't commit any turnovers and threw for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

With as much talk surrounding Minnesota's defense, their offense is nothing to scoff at either. With the return of Dalvin Cook who took the league by storm a season ago before suffering a torn ACL in Week 4 which ultimately put an end to his rookie campaign, the former Florida State Seminole and Heisman finalist picked up right where he left off before the injury with a handful of big gains in the first half. Minnesota would start the scoring with a field goal in the first quarter before taking a 10-0 lead on Cousins' connection in the end zone with receiver Stefon Diggs, catching 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon off-guard from behind as he failed to locate the ball which allowed Diggs to make the easy grab from 22-yards out. The Niners would answer with a field goal before missing out on a golden opportunity that could've tied the game. After a big run from Cook who broke multiple tackles before being surprised from behind as rookie linebacker Fred Warner punched the ball loose forcing a fumble recovered by Richard Sherman, San Francisco embarked on a 16-play drive that made it all the way to the 1-yard line before Alfred Morris coughed the ball up with a fumble at the 1-yard line. The costly turnover would be one of several stall outs endured in the red zone for San Francisco.

Already without free-agent acquisition Jerick McKinnon who suffered a torn ACL prior to San Francisco's pre-season finale and was acquired to be Kyle Shanahan's No. 1 weapon at the running back position, the 49ers would lose another one of their key cogs on offense. Receiver Marquise Goodwin who was signed to a new three-year extension during the offseason and has proven to be one of Garoppolo's favorite targets, would be forced to leave the game in the first half after banging knees with a member of the Vikings and was diagnosed with what team doctors described as a quad injury, putting an early end to his day and preventing him from contributing on the field. From there, Shanahan and Garoppolo would have to be creative in the passing game as rookie receiver Dante Pettis and fullback Kyle Juszczyk logged the two biggest gains thru the air for the Niners on Sunday, hauling in receptions of 39 and 56 yards respectively.

But the biggest plays for San Francisco's offense were the ones that weren't made as both receiver Pierre Garcon and tight-end George Kittle each had chances to strike pay dirt, but were tagged with drops. Then came one of the bigger back-breakers as Garoppolo had a pass intended for receiver Kendrick Bourne picked off and returned for a pick-six. Bourne admitted after the game to running the wrong route on the costly turnover, a perfect example of the type of mistake you can't make when playing a stingy defense and a talented football team like that of Minnesota's, not to mention in their own home. And while the Niners settled for field goals with kicker Robbie Gould going three-for-three on the day, Cousins was busy connecting for his second touchdown pass of the game, an 11-yard strike to tight-end Kyle Rudolph. The final score of the afternoon for the Vikings would appear to put some fire under the 49er offense as Garoppolo and company finally responded with a trip to the end zone as Jimmy G's first touchdown of the season came with less than a minute remaining the 3rd quarter. After being pressured and bouncing off a defender, Garoppolo rolled out to his left, throwing off-balance to find Pettis in the back of the end zone for the score. Gould's third and final field goal would make it a 24-16 affair before the Niner defense committed without a doubt their biggest miscue of the afternoon.

Facing a pivotal 4th and 1 call with 3 minutes remaining in regulation, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer sent his offense onto the field for one thing and one thing only -- to draw the defense off-sides. With the play clock down to its final second, the trick would work on second year defensive-end Solomon Thomas who was called for neutral zone infraction which would give Minnesota a new set of downs. Despite the bone-headed penalty which took time off the clock, the Niners would still be given one final chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but would need to march the ball down the field 89-yards with less than 2 minutes remaining. Instead, Garoppolo who was under heavy pressure, hurried a pass intended for Trent Taylor that was picked off, sealing the win. The interception would be the third of the day for Garoppolo who finished with a game-high 261 passing yards and one touchdown pass as he completed 15 of 33 passes for a QB rating of 45.1. Putting into perspective just how off a day Sunday was for Garoppolo, his previous low in the QBR department was 82.4 as Jimmy G suffered his first loss on a football field since December 13, 2013 when he was still under center for the Eastern Illinois University football program.

Overall, Sunday's loss was a sloppy performance for a Niners team that was without two of their top weapons on offense and a defense that is still trying to establish their identity. While players like rookie linebacker Fred Warner who tallied 12 tackles in his debut to go with the forced fumble and third-year defensive-end DeForest Buckner who logged 2.5 sacks showed flashes of greatness, there's still plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up for this team to click. However, that's nothing out of the ordinary for a team one week into the season. Given communication duties in his first glimpse of meaningful NFL action, Warner resembled a promising young defender who should only get better with Reuben Foster by his side when the two will be allowed to team up come Week 3 after Foster serves his suspension stemming from a series of off-the-field arrests during the off-season. As for Buckner, his 2.5 sacks were the most by a 49er in a single game since Aldon Smith's 5.5 sack performance back on November 19, 2012. San Francisco will need the help of them and others if they plan to get even in the win column in Week 2.

Week 2 Preview - Playing at Levi's Stadium for the first time this season, the 49ers will host the (0-1) Detroit Lions who are coming off a 48-17 shellacking at home at the hands of the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Matt Stafford who was picked off by the Jets defense four times on Monday for the fifth time in his career, will look to shake off one of the worst starts of his career and redeem himself against a San Francisco defense. With Detroit featuring a mediocre run game under first-year head coach Matt Patricia, DeForest Buckner and co. will have their eyes set on Stafford in hopes of making him feel just as uncomfortable as he was against the Jets. As for Garoppolo, facing a defense not nearly as ferocious as Minnesota's, I expect to see San Francisco's offense bounce back in the red zone, somewhere they didn't fair too well in Week 1. Meanwhile on the injury front, aside from receiver Marquise Goodwin who's been listed as day-to-day nursing his quad, the health at left-guard will be one coach Kyle Shanahan will keep an eye on heading into Week 2 as both Mike Person and Joshua Garnett went down with foot injuries against Minnesota, forcing 2018 first round pick Mike McGlinchey to man the position for the first time in his life and doing an exceptional job considering.


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Niners lock up Garoppolo with Record Deal

If you're a long lost relative of Jimmy Garoppolo's, now's the time to come out of the woodwork as the newly dubbed franchise quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers just got paid. After helping turn a struggling 1-10 49ers team into a team that finished the 2017 season riding a league-best five-game winning streak to finish the season 6-10 as Garoppolo remained undefeated in his seven career starts, two things were very apparent following San Francisco's season-finale win over the division rival L.A. Rams on New Years Eve. 1. 49ers GM John Lynch had plans of keeping Garoppolo in a Niner uniform for many years to come and 2. Jimmy G. was due for a big payday. Lynch delivered on a promise he made back on January 2 when he assured Niner fans after the season that Garoppolo wasn't going anywhere, by inking him to a 5-year, $137.5 Million contract. The deal which includes $48.7 Million guaranteed, makes Garoppolo the highest paid player in NFL history on a per year basis as the 26-year old QB who will only be 31-years of age when his contract expires, will earn an annual salary of $27.5 Mil and $86.4 Mil. in the first three years of his deal.

While an extension was rumored to be in the works according to 49er brass, nobody expected a deal to get done this fast as Lynch won over the 49er faithful yet again by wasting little time to lock down their guy through the 2022 season. Lynch knew signing Garoppolo long-term was a huge step in the right direction as far as establishing the groundwork for a team that's been in rebuild mode since the departure of former head coach Jim Harbaugh following the 2014 season, as well as a major selling point in attracting free-agents who are scheduled to hit the open market to the Bay Area. However, he also knows that there's still lots of work to be done to get the team to where it needs to be in order to accomplish their ultimate goal of hoisting that sixth Lombardi trophy.

Despite inking Jimmy G. to his new lucrative deal that will pay him a record $27.5 Million a year, eclipsing the previous mark of $27 Mil. set by Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford who agreed to his deal just a year ago, the signing which will undoubtedly have an effect on the market for QB's moving forward, will likely be a bargain down the road with free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins seeking an expensive contract that is expected to leapfrog him over Garoppolo in dollar signs. And Cousins' deal will likely be left in the dust soon after by the continued QB carousel as Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees are all due for new contracts as well. Even after adding Garoppolo's contract to the books, GM John Lynch will still have north of $100 Million in cap space available for this offseason if they choose to bring in a new toy or two on offense for Garoppolo to play with and build around their newly paid franchise QB, or perhaps bolster the offensive-line to keep Garoppolo's jersey clean or some much needed depth on defense. Lynch made it very simple in an interview with Michael Silver of the NFL Network following the team's press-conference as to why free-agents should choose to buy in and join the team, "It's 75 degrees and sunny outside, we got Jimmy Garoppolo, come and join us."

After just seven career starts, all of which were wins including five with the Niners and two in New England, Jimmy G. who dazzled on the field with his new team despite little time to adjust to a new offense, will now get a full offseason to study head coach Kyle Shanahan's complex system. Considering how foreign Garoppolo was to the system and how quickly he was thrown into the mix following the injury to QB C.J. Beathard, I'd say he did a pretty good. After getting the nod to start in weeks 13-17, Garoppolo impressed the coaching staff by throwing for 1,542 yards, third in the league during that span behind only Phillip Rivers' 1,567 and Jameis Winston's 1,584. Though the sample size remains small at just seven career starts, Garoppolo's stats are nothing to scoff at as he's led his offense to the most points per game (28.3) over the last 25 seasons with a minimum of seven starts, edging a former 49er great in Steve Young (27.6) and tying him with his former Patriots teammate and mentor Tom Brady (28.3). In addition to being just one of five QB's to win his first seven NFL starts since the 1970 merger, his 2,038 passing yards in those seven career starts are 4th most since 1970, behind only Kirk Cousins, Cam Newton and Billy Volek.

It seems like just yesterday that San Francisco acquired Garoppolo from the Patriots via trade back on October 31 for a 2018 second-round pick in April's Draft. The deal which sparked growing rumors of turmoil and dysfunction in the Patriots locker room and front-office as to why New England would deal Garoppolo, not to mention for as small a return as a single second-round pick, was praised by many on the 49ers end who went out and grabbed their man while other teams remained hesitant. For what it's worth, San Francisco's odds to win the Super Bowl next season have risen exponentially, having jumped out with the 10th best odds at 20/1. While a lot can change from now until the start of the season, I think it's safe to say the Niner Empire aren't the only ones buying in on Jimmy G.


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49ers Rally but Fall Short behind Beathard's Heroics

Week 6 - Entering their Week 6 meeting with the (2-2) Washington Redskins who were coming off a BYE, the (0-5) San Francisco 49ers had been on the cusp of victory in four straight matches, including overtime losses in each of their last two games. Since a blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers to open the season, head coach Kyle Shanahan has witnessed his team fight hard week after week but has had little to show for as his team's last four losses have all come by three points or less. Hoping to avoid the first 0-6 start in 49ers franchise history since 1979, Shanahan would look to earn his first career win against a Redskins franchise he served four seasons with from 2010 to 2013 as the team's offensive coordinator. He and 49ers GM John Lynch would also get a much closer look at Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins who has been on San Francisco's radar as a possible long-term solution to their QB problem. But it wouldn't be long before both Shanahan and Lynch also got a look at their youngest quarterback that coincidentally has been compared to Cousins.

But after a rocky start that saw Washington score a touchdown on their opening possession before jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first half, San Francisco appeared to be in store for a beat down and were in dire need of a jolt on offense. Following four unsuccessful possessions led by starting quarterback Brian Hoyer, coach Shanahan decided to kick the tires on rookie QB C.J. Beathard after the third round pick from Iowa turned a few heads during preseason. Making his debut with 6:39 remaining in the first half and his team down by 10, Beathard completed a 13-yard completion on his first pass attempt, but showed some jitters on his next three attempts as a trio of incompletions would bring on the punting unit. With another Redskins touchdown on the ensuing possession, Beathard would be forced to dig his team out of a 17-point hole despite only a handful of plays under his belt. And on his second possession, the 23 year old Tennessee native would look much more comfortable in the pocket as three of his next four passes would go for gains of 19, 31 and 12 yards, helping march the offense to the 1-yard line before running back Carlos Hyde put the Niners on the board with a touchdown run on 4th down in the final seconds of the first half.

By adding a field goal on their first possession of the second half, San Francisco would cut the deficit to 7 as kicker Robbie Gould improved his streak to 32 consecutive made field goals, the longest active streak in the league. Unfortunately, that streak would come to an end just one possession later as Gould missed from 47 yards out, failing to bring his team within a point. San Francisco would catch a break, however, as former 49ers tight-end Vernon Davis hauled in a 6 yard pass before being stripped of the ball by linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, thus allowing cornerback Jimmie Ward to pick up the ball and nearly take it to the house before being pushed out of bounds near the goal-line. Carlos Hyde would need only one play to do the rest as his second rushing touchdown of the day tied the game at 17 all. Looking to answer, Washington would get a Dustin Hopkins field goal on a 16-play drive that lasted nearly seven and a half minutes to regain the lead. 'Skins captain Kirk Cousins would add to that lead with his feet as he scampered into the end zone untouched from 7-yards out for a touchdown before a missed extra-point by Hopkins.

Taking over with under three and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the former Iowa Hawkeye would tally his first career passing touchdown on a 45-yard pass to receiver Aldrick Robinson who found an opening near the right sideline as the Niners pulled within two points. In need of a stop on defense, the 49ers would force a three and out to put the ball back in the hands of their rookie QB with under a minute to go. But standing in the way of his team's first win of the season and the first victory of his young career would be the franchise C.J.'s grandfather Bobby Beathard once served over a decade with and helped win two Super Bowl's as the Redskins' general manager from 1978 to 1989. Hoping to make his grandfather proud by beating his old employer, Beathard would soon find himself stuck between a rock and a hard place as any chances of a late comeback attempt would be thwarted by yet another questionable penalty on the offense in the wining minutes of the fourth quarter.

Facing 2nd and 10 with 23 seconds remaining, former Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon would be called for offensive pass-interference as he collided with a defender when trying to make a cut while running his route. The penalty would set the Niners back an additional ten yards, turning the tide and knocking them out of field goal range and erasing any shot at setting up a potential game-winning field goal. Staring down a crucial 4th and 20 play with 9 seconds to go and zero timeouts remaining, Beathard would be forced to go for the home run play as his pass intended for Kittle was intercepted by corner Kendall Fuller as Washington survived for the 26-24 victory, handing San Francisco their fifth consecutive loss by a combined 13 points. Close but no cigar would be the motto once again for rookie head coach Kyle Shanahan who witnessed his team become the first squad in NFL history to lose five straight games by three points or less. For Beathard, the close loss is definitely something the rookie can hang his hat on as he nearly helped pull off the comeback victory by throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown despite missing all but the final six minutes of the first half. He also gives the franchise a glimmer of hope at the QB position moving forward.

Week 7 Preview: With the (0-6) 49ers returning home to Levi's Stadium for the first time since a Thursday Night loss to the Rams on September 21, Beathard will take over the reigns of the QB position for the first time in front of the home fans. Looking to make that homecoming as unwelcoming as possible will be the (2-3) Dallas Cowboys as the two teams renew rivalries once again. Having lost two straight, Dak Prescott and company who are coming off a BYE week, will look to avoid losing a third straight game and hope to keep pace in the NFC East with both (3-2) Washington and first place (5-1) Philadelphia. Week 7 could also see the possible return of 49ers rookie linebacker Reuben Foster who's been nursing an ankle injury suffered in the season-opener versus Carolina. And with the recent trade of veteran Pro-Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman, the 49ers defense could use all the help it can get against Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant and the rest of the Cowboys' play makers.


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