Major miscues doom 49ers in 23-17 loss to Vikings

The San Francisco 49ers took their first loss of the season on Sunday, due in large part to a series of significant errors that sent the Minnesota Vikings to a 23-17 win over the 49ers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The 49ers committed two turnovers on Sunday, one of which led to a Vikings touchdown, while also giving up a 97-yard touchdown pass and a blocked punt that led to a field goal. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 319 yards on 26-of-38 passing with one touchdown and one interception in the loss, while former 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold completed 17-of-26 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Running back Jordan Mason added 20 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who also got 110 yards on eight receptions by wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

First Half

The 49ers began the game with possession and were held to a three-and-out, then the Vikings drove close to midfield before a botched play on a first down resulted in a 13-yard loss that eventually led to a punt. The 49ers then took over at their own 20-yard line and followed with their own drive to midfield, but they went in the wrong direction after Mitch Wishnowsky had his punt blocked by fullback C.J. Ham. Safety Theo Jackson recovered the punt for the Vikings and returned the ball to the 49ers' 24-yard line.

The 49ers held firm on defense after the blocked punt, forcing the Vikings to settle for a 22-yard field goal from kicker Will Reichard. An illegal block penalty on defensive back Renardo Green on the ensuing kickoff followed by a first down false start from left tackle Trent Williams buried the 49ers back at their own 5-yard line on their next drive, but they dug out of that hole by driving 88 yards in 15 plays to the Vikings' 2-yard line. But on 4th-and-Goal, the drive came to an end when a pass from Purdy fell incomplete, causing the Vikings to take possession with just over ten minutes remaining in the half. Lightning struck two plays later when Darnold found wide receiver Justin Jefferson on a deep ball for a 97-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

The next drive ended in another turnover on downs for the 49ers after a run from Purdy fell short of a first down on a 4th-and-2 from the Vikings' 43. But the 49ers came up with their biggest play of the first half on the next drive when a pass from Darnold was intercepted by linebacker Fred Warner at the 49ers' 10-yard line and returned 25 yards to give the 49ers possession at the 35 with 4:38 remaining in the half.

A 28-yard completion from Purdy to Samuel on the first play after the interception moved the 49ers into Vikings territory in a hurry, then a seven-yard run followed by a 22-yard run from Mason moved the 49ers into a 1st-and-Goal at the 8-yard line. On 2nd and Goal, Purdy dumped a short pass to tight end George Kittle, who plowed into the end zone from there for a seven-yard score to cut the lead to 10-7 with less than two minutes remaining.

The Vikings began the next possession at their own 30 and quickly moved out to the 48-yard line after an 18-yard completion to wide receiver Jalen Nailor. After a sack from defensive end Nick Bosa on the next play, Darnold completed a two-yard pass to running back Aaron Jones on second down and a 16-yard pass to Jefferson on third down to set up a 1st-and-10 at the 49ers' 39-yard line. Three plays later, Darnold ran for an 18-yard gain on 3rd-and-10 to set up a field goal attempt from Reichard with three seconds remaining, which was good from 39 yards to send the Vikings into halftime with a 13-7 lead.

The 49ers dominated time of possession in the first half (19:13 to 10:47) but the 97-yard touchdown helped give the Vikings an edge at the break in total yardage (251 to 223). Darnold finished the half with 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 8-of-15 passing, while Purdy completed 13-of-18 passes in the half for 154 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Second Half

The 49ers got the second half off to a strong start defensively, forcing a three-and-out after a pressure from defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos led Darnold to commit an intentional grounding penalty on second down. The 49ers moved the ball to around midfield on the next possession before being forced to punt following a third-down sack from Pat Jones II, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 15-yard line.

The Vikings got a first-down gain of 17 yards on a pass from Darnold to wide receiver Trent Sherfield, but a second down tackle-for-loss from Warner two plays later followed by a third down sack from Bosa forced the Vikings to punt back to the 49ers after four plays. There was nearly a disaster for the 49ers on the punt due to a muff from return man Jacob Cowing, but cornerback Isaac Yiadom recovered the muff after both teams scrambled for the ball to give the 49ers possession at their own 13-yard line.

Disaster did strike for the 49ers two plays later, however, when a pass from Purdy was tipped, then intercepted by safety Josh Metellus. On the next play, Darnold connected with Nailor for a touchdown from ten yards out to give the Vikings a 20-7 third quarter lead.

Sloppy play continued for the 49ers on the next drive, which ended in Purdy's second turnover in consecutive possessions. The 49ers moved the ball to the
Vikings' 39-yard line in five plays, but after a second down sack, the ball floated out of the hand of Purdy and into the arms of defensive lineman Jihad Ward on a play that was ruled a sack and fumble. But Warner was able to keep the 49ers afloat on the ensuing possession when he knocked the ball out of the arms of Jones for a fumble that was recovered at the 1-yard line by Yiadom.

The 49ers were able to turn Warner's forced fumble into points after a 12-play, 99-yard drive that ended in a touchdown run from Mason. A series of completions from Purdy moved the ball to the 49ers' 42-yard line, then a third down completion to Kittle for 14 yards to go with a roughing the passer penalty on Ward moved the ball inside the Vikings' 30. After a 13-yard completion to Saumel moved the ball to the 16-yard line, Mason followed a six-yard run with a 10-yard touchdown scamper to cut the Vikings' lead to 20-14 with just over ten minutes left in the game.

The Vikings put the 49ers in a tough spot on the next possession by putting together a 14-play, 62-yard drive that took 6:46 off the clock and ended in a 27-yard field goal from Reichard. The 49ers had the Vikings in a 3rd-and-8 from their own 46 earlier in the drive, but Darnold connected with Nailor for a 26-yard completion to put the ball at the 49ers' 28-yard line. The Vikings finished the drive off with 3:30 left on the clock, leaving the 49ers facing a 23-14 deficit that would prove to be too much to overcome.

The 49ers quickly moved downfield on the next possession, advancing to the Vikings' 4-yard line when the two-minute warning came with 1:57 on the clock. The 49ers added a 31-yard field goal from Jake Moody after a third-down pass was batted into the arms of Deebo Samuel and lost nine yards while taking over 30 seconds off the clock, then the ensuing onsides kick attempt was recovered by the Vikings, sealing the 23-17 win.

The Vikings moved to 2-0 on the season with the victory. The 49ers fell to 1-1 after Week 1 Monday night win over the New York Jets.

Game Notes: Sunday's meeting was the 51st overall between the 49ers and Vikings. The series now stands tied at 25-25-1, while the 49ers have not won in Minnesota since 1992... Jefferson's fourth catch of the game put him at 400 receptions on his career, making him the third-fastest player to reach the milestone (Michael Thomas, Odell Beckham)... Jefferson also became the fastest player in NFL history (62 games) to reach 30 games of 100 or more receiving yards, surpassing Lance Alworth (64 games)... The 49ers will be back in action next Sunday with a road game against the Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood (4:25 p.m. ET/1:25 p.m. PT, FOX).

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