San Francisco 49ers Vs. Minnesota Vikings - Terrell Lloyd/49ers
The second week of the 2024 NFL season was a rough one for the San Francisco 49ers. The Minnesota Vikings took the win, 23-17. The Vikings are now 2-0 while the 49ers fall to a 1-1 record. Even with the loss, some players really shined. There are also a couple of players need to step up next week. Here is a look at the San Francisco 49ers week two studs and duds.
San Francisco 49ers Studs
Fred Warner
The star linebacker had another big game against the Vikings in week two of the season. Fred Warner was the ultimate stud for the 49ers. This game may not have been as close as it was without Warner on the field. This is just week two of the NFL season and he is already building up a case for Defensive Player of the Year.
Against the Vikings, Warner had nine combined tackles, seven solo, one tackle for loss, and one sack according to ESPN. While Warner is a player all over the field making key plays, he has done so much more than that. He also had one interception, that went for 25 yards, and two forced fumbles. One of the fumbles resulted in the 49ers’ ball. Warner is not just a leader, he is an absolute beast on the field.
Deebo Samuel
This was a rough weekend for the 49ers’ offense. They had to punt twice, they turned over the ball, and they could not capitalize in the red zone. There is a lot of fixing up to be done, but the star on the offense was definitely wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel made some tough catches and continuously got open for quarterback Brock Purdy. The offense needs to improve, but Samuel is doing his job.
Against the Vikings, Samuel had eight receptions for 110 yards, according to ESPN. His longest reception was for 28 yards. Unfortunately, Samuel could not get it into the endzone, and he could not get the run game going. Samuel rushed the ball two times, which went for -10 yards. While hopefully that can improve, he was a top target for Purdy this weekend. He helped keep the game close, and will hopefully keep up the momentum that he has had this season so far.
San Francisco 49ers Duds
Brock Purdy
This was a rough game for the 49ers’ third-year quarterback. Brock Purdy had some big throws, but he also made some poor decisions. While the Vikings’ defense did very well putting pressure on Purdy, there were also times when he hurt himself. Not capitalizing in the red zone is hurting the 49ers and that is something that must improve moving forward.
In the game, Purdy completed 28 passes out of 36 attempts for 319 yards and one touchdown, according to ESPN. This is good, but he also threw one interception, fumbled the ball once, and was sacked six times. He needs to be a play maker, and this weekend he just did not do enough. He did have a good run for a first down, and did make some plays, but in tight games it has to be more. Purdy ended up rushing the ball two times for 12 yards. There were some key plays by the quarterback, but he needs to do better next weekend. As much as the pressure was on him, some poor plays could have been avoided.
Offensive Line
Even if it is not all on the offensive line, there does need to be improvement in blocking. When it comes to running the ball, it could have been better. There was a period of time when George Kittle was off the field. The tight end needed an IV, and while he was gone there was a struggle to gain positive yards running the ball.
Purdy made his mistakes throughout the game, but there were times when there was nothing that he could do with the Vikings defense running at him. Even if it was a strong Minnesota defense doing their job, there needs to be improvement in protecting Purdy.
Purdy was sacked six times, which is not good. It was not all because of the offensive line, sometimes it was just good defense, but this cannot happen again. The 49ers did rush the ball for 102 total yards, according to ESPN, but it needs to be more consistent. There are times it is on more than just the offensive line, as tight ends also block, there just needs to be improvement on the blocking on offense. Against the New York Jets, Purdy looked comfortable in the pocket. The team needs to get back to this quickly.
The San Francisco 49ers will next face the Los Angeles Rams for their second away game in a row.
