The Minnesota Vikings defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon, 24-16, during the NFL’s first full Sunday of action.
PFF’s ReFocused series this season features immediate takeaways and a key to the victory from two Senior Analysts who graded the performance, watching every player, on every play of the game. For more data and analysis from the game, utilize our Premium Stats 2.0 dashboard to expand your knowledge on the key players, signature stats and much more.
FINAL SCORE
Minnesota Vikings 24, San Francisco 49ers 16
Analyst Takeaways
This was a tough start to the season for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. He had some great throws, like his touchdown toss to rookie wideout Dante Pettis that showcased both his arm and his ability to extend plays. However, there were far too many misses or poor decisions. Garoppolo really struggled under pressure, throwing all three of his interceptions when under duress. His interception at the end of the game really summed up his play, as it was both a bad read to not account for All-Pro safety Harrison Smith and a poorly thrown ball.
One of the reasons that Garoppolo struggled was that his offensive line was getting beat all game long. They couldn’t establish any real kind of run game, as the backs were constantly having to break tackles at or around the line of scrimmage. In the pass game, Garoppolo seemed to have a guy in his face almost every other dropback. He was only sacked once, but he was constantly having to move around in the pocket or take a hit because his line couldn’t keep the Vikings’ defenders off of him. Even star left tackle Joe Staley, the 49ers’ best lineman, really had a tough time and allowed multiple pressure and run stops.
One of the standouts…
