49ers vs. Vikings live blog: Second half

This is the live blog for the second half of the San Francisco 49ers’ Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings. I’ll update this frequently with information and analysis from the press box.

8:56 Vikings get the ball first down 7-0.

9:00 Reggie Bush is out for the rest of the game with a calf injury.

9:03 Kenneth Acker tackles Adrian Peterson after a gain of two on third-and-4 from the Vikings’ 46.

9:14 The 49ers burn a timeout to avoid a delay-of-game penalty on third-and-5 from the Vikings’ 11.

9:17 Kaepernick throws low and behind Boldin on third down. Incomplete.

9:18 Phil Dawson makes a 30-yard field goal. 10-0 Niners.

9:20 Cordarrelle Patterson returns the kickoff to the Vikings’ 15.

9:29 Minnesota faces second-and-6 from the 49ers’ 19 when the fourth quarter begins. The Vikings switched to a spread offense and finally are moving the ball.

9:32 Bridgewater overthrows Jarius Wright in the end zone on third down, and the Vikings line up for a 37-yard field goal.

9:33 Blair Walsh makes the field goal. 10-3 Niners.

9:43 Carlos Hyde takes a stretch-zone run to the right, quickly cuts upfield and runs 17 yards untouched for the touchdown. 17-3 Niners.

9:50 Bridgewater sails a pass over Rudolph’s head into Tramaine Brock’s hands, who runs to the Vikings’ 30.

9:54 Dawson makes a 35-yard field goal. 20-3 Niners. Hyde has 23 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He carried the offense tonight.

10:02 Aaron Lynch sacks Teddy Bridgewater on fourth-and-8. That was a coverage sack. Bridgewater held the ball because he had nowhere to throw it.

10:05 Hyde gains nine yards on a power run to the right.

10:08 Next play, Hyde gains five on a counter run to the left. The Niners take a knee for the win. Stay tuned for grades.

This article has 271 Comments

  1. It’s too bad Mike Davis isn’t active. They could use him IMO. I guess they didn’t expect Bush to go down though.

  2. Didn’t set his feet again. Cmon man you’re killing me. I don’t know what it is about the redzone but he and this offense loose their heads in the 20’s smh

  3. I don’t mean this as hate. It’s just an observation: Kaep is the same as he was last year. He’s worked hard,and made some improvements with some reads, but he doesn’t have the consistency yet.
    Hyde is the beast. Keep running the ball.

    1. Fan77

      You don’t mean to look like a hater, but you do, and it’s because you can’t help yourself, you are a hater. Embrace it.

      I hate, with a capital “H” — HATE — Steve Young, and most people on this board rightfully tell me that he was a good QB, but I HATE him because he’s not Joe Montana, and because he took Montana’s job, when he wasn’t as good as Montana. That’s it.

      Embrace the hate. You HATE Colin Kaepernick.

      Because if there’s one thing I’m sure of, CK looks night and day from last year to this one.

  4. We all knew his team would be ragged, but I gotta say without Carlos and Na-Bow we are no where this good. Arrow up for the 49ers. Shaking off the rust and kicking the tires. If Kaepernick avoids turnovers he will ultimately be serviceable as a game manager.

    1. And you can’t even say it. Our QB is completing short passes and reading the defense. He’s still not perfect or Aaron Rodgers, but good enough to keep BG on the bench.

  5. I wish Vernon would just lower his shoulder and deliver a hit. That would’ve been a first down. Thank God for Anquan and a brilliant play call.

  6. Not to take anything away from Hyde on that last TD but I could have flown a 747 through the space in the line, too big to even call a hole.

      1. Yup they’ve been maligned by everyone and they didn’t yield 5 sack or any at this point. Nicely done.

    1. No you are taking something away from Hyde. All off season long you have preached what a mistake it was to get rid of Gore.. All season long I have told you this guy is on a whole other level then Gore. Gore was a great but he is NO WHERE near the talent of Hyde right now.

        1. The only one sounding bitter is yourself. Go grab a quote where I’m sounding bitter or haven’t already joked about being wrong. See anyone else trying to make a big deal about it other then you? Let it go, you’re the only one that cares.

          1. Although we have a good history of containing Peterson I think the team is walking into a buzzsaw tonight. He’s the best running back in the league and he hasn’t been this motivated to make a statement since his rookie year or since coming back from his injury. It’s going to take another injury(truly not hoping for that, just saying) to keep Peterson under 130 yards rushing tonight. I think he’ll have at least 2 scores as well. Once Peterson is scorching us that play action pass will start carving up the middle linebackers and safeties and you can expect Teddy to have a pretty decent night as well unless the 49ers have been hiding some super secret pass rush. I originally projected 23-10 but I’m going with 33-17 Vikings instead.

              1. You left off my correction: ” I did discover a slight typo I meant to correct and that was when I said Peterson would run for 130+ and 2 TD’s obviously that was supposed to say Hyde. Easy mistake to make.”

                The score prediction and victor were the errors in that statement.

                Therefore It’s only partial poppycock.

  7. Hey grant prediction not looking so good…..what about kap looking good so far,finish strong.Hyde is a beast!!!!! To many penalties though

  8. The defense is certainly gratified to have Hyde on their team. At least they can catch a blow on occasion. The 49ers east coast run heavy game plan is just the ticket. It appears as though field position does not dictate altering the 49ers’ game plan.

  9. My only knock on ck… That spotty footwork. Other than that. He is shaping into a pocket passer. Slowly but surely. He looks so patient. I guess when you have some time it comes easier.

  10. GRANT – I am looking forward to the article in the morning. “5 reasons I was wrong for predicting the Vikings would win!”

    1. Davis and Hunter are going to have to spell Hyde more in future games. Tonight with only Hayne on the bench there wasn’t enough rest.

  11. I was almost dead on balls with my RB prediction tonight. I did discover a slight typo I meant to correct and that was when I said Peterson would run for 130+ and 2 TD’s obviously that was supposed to say Hyde. Easy mistake to make.

    1. Wasn’t the first and I expect it won’t be the last. Not sure why you don’t like Mr. Hyde, but when they drafted him, I remember Grant bemoaning the fact he was from the Big 10 and how he wouldn’t amount to anything. I knew he’d be the future in a ZBS and the perfect fit with Kaepernick. The 2 Headed Hydra coming back to bite ya….

  12. Ninermd:
    I think this is more or less the same Kaep as last year. He really needs to shorten the release, his footwork and just get more comfortable in the pocket.
    It’s going to be a work in progress the whole year and I would rather accept that then have too high expectations.

    1. I see him looking downfield more and not running to fast. Saw some air under some of his throws too. I’m not saying he’s there, but he has improved with Warner. Again the mechanics could use some work, but he’s starting to at least look like a pocket passer.

    2. Geez. Lots of improvements, not the same. But I guess for you to acknowledge a work in progress is something.

    3. You’re an idiot. He just showed the incremental improvement that you’d expect from a quarterback with a run first mentality, and that came from repetitions, desire and hard work….

  13. Even though they made the field goal I’d like to see them go for it there. Coulda kept draining that clock.

    1. That FG all but seals the victory. A turnover on downs would have kept it a two score game plus given them a huge momentum change. The kick attempt was the right call.

    1. Agree but not because of fantasy points. He’s been working real hard; let’s not push our luck. He’s got 163 yards.

    1. I was just thinking the same thing. But I want the NFL to keep underestimating us. It could be 2011 all over again!

  14. Great way to start out the season with so much negativity from the offseason. I think the offense will get better each week. Not sure how good the QB pressure really is with a bad Vikings O line but its hard to complain. Really impressed with the O-line opening up holes and actually giving Kap a decent amount of time to throw.

  15. I’ll take this kap over last year kap all day…love Gore but you can clearly see the difference….hyde=beast

  16. Props to Scooter for predicting the 49ers would have more rushing yards than passing yards. I know he’s happy it’s in a win.

    1. The one and only bold prediction of mine that was right :-P

      But boy am I happy I was wrong about who would win!

        1. Around 200 yards rushing, only 1 sack… if the box score is any judge then the OL had a great game. Looking forward to watching it tonight. :-)

          1. That ZBS was executed beautifully. They stretched Minnesota wide with lots of TEs and really rode Boone and Staley early.

  17. Dear Chris Berman:

    No matter how many times you call Levi Stadium “The Big Bell Bottom” it’s just not catching on. Please give it up.

  18. NinerMD Aug 29th “Ck will suck and so will this team. 4 wins would be a miracle.”

    NinerMD Week 1 “My only knock on ck… That spotty footwork. Other than that. He is shaping into a pocket passer. Slowly but surely. He looks so patient. I guess when you have some time it comes easier.”

    More like Niner DB

    1. At least he’s not letting his previous views cloud his observations. I applaud him for that. Let’s all enjoy this win.

      1. You’re the troll. Your outlook and mouth flutter like a leaf in the breeze. Clown

        NinerMD “Oh did I mention how bad the secondary will suck too. Gonna be a looooong season. Bright side?? Probably get a good draft pick and will have tons of money”

  19. wilson73,
    He occassionally did the these things you call improvements last year. He still looks uncomfortable. He missed some easy throws, like the one to Boldin. He has to start hitting throws that other QBs can make effortlessly. He makes it look hard.
    Hey a win is a win. I’ll take it. Hyde is going to a great back.
    The new Offense is more fun to watch, even though the Niners were running a lot of jumbo formations like last year. I would love to see Hyde taking on smaller DBs, with Eillington in the slot.

    1. Watch out, if you try to give the o-line credit CK=average will accuse you of trying to take something away from Hyde.

      1. I’m hoping it was our line. Curious to see there pff grades. I feel like both sides did well especially the left one.

        1. Look back to Hydes long runs, the oline had huge pushes in each of them. This oline deserves a lot of credit.

      2. Ya Gore looked awesome yesterday! Lol.. Nice prediction bro. Keep it up it bodes well for the Niners season.

  20. Run the ball, play good defense and you can win a lot of games in the NFL. Outside of Carlos Hyde, tonights MVP’s: Geep Chryst and Mangini. They had their guys ready to play and the play calling was exceptional.
    1-0 folks and bring on the Steelers!

  21. Welp!!! Idk how to
    Measure this team yet. Was it a bad Minnesota team? Or are they pretty good.
    One thing I know the defense will get a very good test in Pitt next week.
    Adios. Till tomorrow.

  22. Niners’ defense will be rated number 1 after week 1 whereas the Seachickens are 31st. It’ll be a nice, Mary-free, week.

  23. Come on guys, you’re being way to easy on Grant and all of his nonsensical predictions. Grant deserves 20 lashings or something. At some point he’s going to realize it’s better to sound smart, than it is controversial. Am I right?

    And as of now, Grant sounds like someone who doesn’t understand the very game he covers on this blog. What a shame!

  24. Teddy Bridgewater, Ha! Adrian Peterson, oooh! Still ain’t done crap against the Scarlet and Gold….

      1. Hayne made the rookiest of rookiest mistakes, he went for a short punt inside the other teams territory. He should have just stepped back, but he lost his head and pursued the ball instead of letting it die. At least he hustled!

      2. He was definitely nervous, but he’ll get better. He should be active next week with Bush injured. Davis will probably be active too so Hayne may get fewer reps at RB. I think he’ll get more chances in the return game, but will split with Ellington.

        1. Yep, I told you Bush wouldn’t last and Davis’ time would come. Activation baby! Hayne made a rookie mistake that surprised the hell out of me. Had to be nerves, not sure what else it could’ve been. I think it would be a mistake not to keep playing him, because by mid season you want him completely comfortable within the offense too. It would behoove Chryst to get Hayne out in space with options, and screens, flat routes….

  25. Worry, worry, worry, and a one game dream comes true. Love it. Now next week at 10:00 AM in Pittsburgh on a short week. Worry, worry, worry …

    1. Calf strain. I’m looking for Hyde, Davis, and Hayne next week. With Davis getting a healthy amount of carries.

  26. Vikes had 54 plays. A nice low snap count. Just what the doctor ordered for a defense that has to fly 3,000 miles on 6 days rest for a 10am game.

  27. 17 completions to 8 different receivers. No interceptions.
    I’d like to see a higher YPA and of course TDs.

    1. Perfect summary. I didn’t see alot of WRs open. Maybe they are saving what Logan called “explosion plays” for the Steelers to jack that YPA.

      1. Hopefully the Steelers will load up against the run and Kap will take advantage with play action. They did that today but I’d like to see a couple of downfield connections and some more chunk plays through the air. You know those vintage Kap 25 yard lasers.

  28. Visiting family, and at Halftime we took off for dinner. My brother in law had our waitress check the score before each time she came to the table. It wasn’t too bad to miss the telecast as we watched the sunset from Lava Lava Beach on the Big Island.
    We’ll take the win. I’d wondered if the D could contain AP, but I wouldn’t have bet my mortgage on it. Secondary stood up in 1st half while I watched. Must have been ok in 2nd also.

  29. Black uni’s look sick!

    Niners looked solid.

    I predict that the story moves by mid season from “who they lost” to the young players they have been grafting since 2013-15.

    And can we take a break from the Jed York hate? Team and coach look fine.

    1. Black uniforms need to be permanently retired. There looked like a bad high school team, back to there true colors please.

      1. I thought the Black Unis were on point. Now they just need to come out the Starwars Empire theme or just have Vader breathing in the background!

  30. Niners looked good particularly the OL. Glad we were able to get control of the game by the second half so we didn’t have to show too much on offense and defense. This will help in our up coming games…which will be a challenge. Let’s not get ahead of our selves just yet. But overall good game against a team we should of beat regardless of sports writer/s predictions.

    On a negative note, Hayne doesn’t look like a football player. He still needs time to marinate. Now that Bush can’t be counted on we need to sit Hayne and activate Davis. Also what is the point of activating Patten and not White? White can return punts and kicks too. Maybe give him a chance to show something before Simpson comes back…

    Go Niners

  31. Love the win. That first half was frustrating to say the least. Hope Bush is back soon. We all of a sudden look a bit thin at running back. Wish Davis Was Active Tonight But I Thought Hayne did alright. I was really impressed with his pass blocking.

    I also hope they give him another shot at returner. I know he’s kicking him self for that muff, but hey it happens.

  32. I think Kap showed something very important tonight. His willingness to now pass the ball when he could just as easily have run it. He kept his eyes downfield and made some nice passes when the run was also available to him. Pittsburgh will only really be able to gameplan for the niners starting tomorrow, so at least we’re pretty much even there.

    1. He’s improving, and the haters will never admit it until he establishes consistency game by game. Only way to shut them up….

      1. Okay so you finally admit that he wasn’t that good last season, that he needed alot of work, not just a little. Look how excited everyone is because he showed a willingness to pass and not run.
        Oh lordy he kept his eyes downfield! What is the world coming to???
        He’s supposed to these things. He’s supposed to make the easy throws but he still struggles with them.
        But enough about Kaep already.
        This team is all about Hyde. Hyde. Hyde.

        He was clearly the best player on the field. And he made it look easy.

        The O-Line just mashed the Defense, and Geep Chryst is a big improvement over Greg Roman. They were calling plays so fast, they had 15 secs left on the game clock!

        1. You’re so full of dung. I’ve said from the beginning he was a babe in the art of quarterbacking and that incremental improvement is a realistic expectation. I said when they drafted Mr. Hyde that the transition to a zone read was on the horizon and he’d be a perfect compliment to Kaepernick. I knew he was a beast at OU. Yes Chryst gets it and yes the 49ers are for real and so is their field General!

  33. From Kawakami:

    Kaepernick, who did offseason work to tighten his delivery and feel more comfortable in the pocket, looked occasionally very good, occasionally very inaccurate, and often just like he did last season.

    1. Yea, I don’t need a hack to tell me and what everyone else saw. Incremental improvement in all facets. Progressions, climbing the pocket, touch passes, you name it bitch….

      1. Everyone saw an above average QB make finally do things that a rookie like Marcus Mariota and Jamies Winston do. Heck even Bridgewater climbed the pocket! And his O-line sucked!

    2. You and Kawakami go hand in hand. Your team gets the win by dominating their opponent. Kap looks solid, makes some key throws to keep the chains moving on 3rd downs and manages the game well. He had a shaky start in the 1st game of the season but really warmed up.

      And what do u do… focus on everything he didn’t do. Celebrate the win man. You and Kawakami have something in common, you’re not fans.

      1. I’m a fan, just not a fool. He’s not why they won. Hyde and the defense was. How are you supposed to get better when you can’t acknowledge the weak points on the team?
        Why are we jumpig up and down because he did a few things a QB is supposed to do?

        1. No, you are the fool who dissed Kaep, and he comes out and plays a great game and helps them win. Many posters had doubts, and you and oregon were the worst. Be prepared to eat some crow.

  34. Kap gave a nice post-game presser. With the glasses on he looked like a young professor. I’ll be interested in seeing how he does after a loss. I know many think these things aren’t important, but I disagree. A leader needs to be able to handle these pressers because it continues to inspire confidence in those who view him as a leader (his teammates).

    1. Pressers are the very least of my worries, and the teams as well I’d imagine, but I agree, like his HC, he needs to improve….

    2. Kaep has improved immensely from his first presser. I am so proud of him. He is showing good leadership skills.

  35. No trick plays to blow up. Just wear them down with long drives, and they also reduced drive killing penalties as the game went on. The fourth quarter reminded me of some of Walsh’s fourth quarters against the L. A. Rams.

    1. They played NINER FOOTBALL.
      I liked how Tomsula had that analytical frown on his face. Kinda reminded me of Bill.

      1. Walsh valued team speed as one of the major attributes. This team has that and more – from Hyde exploding through the zone creases to McDonald chasing down the DB running back that blocked kick to the 15 defensive players flying around on each play. Wait until we incorporate Ellington and TS into the mix.

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