It’s been a long time since the San Francisco 49ers left the Land of 1,000 Lakes with a win. You’d have to go back to December 13, 1992, to find the last road win for the Niners over the Minnesota Vikings.
Steve Young led San Francisco to victory in the Metrodome that day, outdueling Rich Gannon for the 20-17 win.
Since then, the 49ers have dropped seven straight in Minnesota. They’ll look to break that streak on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
One of the major keys for San Francisco will be the intensity of the team’s pass rush. In their Week One win over the New York Jets, the 49ers sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers just once, with 11 pressures.
San Francisco defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jordan Elliot combined for two pressures against the Jets, with ends Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd producing the other nine. They’ll have to be better against Minnesota.
The Vikings only allowed one sack in their 28-6 win over the New York Giants. The Giants did generate some pressure, hurrying Vikings starter Sam Darnold 11 times. When New York got to Darnold, he was just 5-for-9 passing for 54 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
However, when his pocket was clean, the former 49ers backup was 14-of-15 for 154 yards and a score.
Darnold has struggled against pressure throughout his career. In 67 career games, he has accounted for 71 turnovers, including 57 interceptions and 14 lost fumbles.
Though the 49ers have a new defensive coordinator in Nick Sorenson, Darnold is familiar enough with the scheme.
“The different ways they are able to disguise coverages causes certain problems obviously schematically, but for a quarterback’s eyes,” Darnold said earlier this week. “If you hitch one too many times, there’s a good pass rush coming at you.”
If the 49ers can get to Darnold, they may be able to make him revert to quarterback that many considered a bust upon his exit from the New York Jets and earn their first win in Minnesota in more than three decades.
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