This is the live blog for the 49ers preseason contest against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. I will provide updates and analysis from the tool shed throughout the game.
7:03 49ers win 17-7. Stay tuned for the observations from tonight’s game.
6:45 Jordan Mason deserves to get an opportunity to play with the starters. He’s better than Trey Sermon.
Robbie Gould with a 28-yard field goal to put the 49ers up 17-7.
6:34 Quick three and out by the defense, and the 49ers offense is in business at the Vikings 37.
The 49ers backups are better than the Vikings backups.
6:28 After a pair of Jordan Mason runs, right tackle Jordan Mills gets beat and Brock Purdy is forced to scramble. He picks up only one yard and the 49ers punt for the first time in the second half.
6:22 Deommodore Lenoir with a pass break up on third and four. Lenoir was lined up in the slot and played it perfectly. He’s been impressive tonight.
6:14 Sudfeld hits JaMycal Hasty over the middle on an option right for a touchdown. 49ers go for two and Sudfeld hits a wide-open Danny Gray on an in route. 49ers lead 14-7 early in the fourth quarter.
6:10 Third quarter comes to a close with the 49ers deep inside the redzone for the second time in the half.
Ty Davis-Price is finally running downfield, he has 20 yards on four carries. Nate Sudfeld has hit six of seven pass attempts.
5:59 Rookie Drake Jackson with a nice pass break up on a screen to the right side. He’s been impressive in each of the first two preseason games.
5:53 After driving down inside the one, Brock Purdy can’t hold on to the snap and the Vikings take over at their own 19.
Purdy completed five of six passes on the drive. The lone incompletion was a drop by Danny Gray.
Ty Davis-Price finally hit the hole hard, blasting up the middle for 12 yards to get the offense down to the two.
5:42 The bad news, San Francisco gave up a lot of pressure in the first half. The good news, most of that was from guys not named Banks or Burford.
5:29 Facing third and 12, Brock Purdy hits Malik Turner over the middle for 21 yards to get the first down. The rookie quarterback then hits Willie Snead on a quick slant for 11 and Tanner Hudson over the middle for 16 to put the 49ers in field goal range. Robbie Gould drills the 46-yard field goal and San Francisco trails by one. It’s 7-6 at the half.
5:20 Sean Mannion goes 4-4 and drives the Vikings 60 yards on eight plays for a touchdown. Late in the drive Charles Omenihu lost contain on a run around the right side for 13 and Tariq Castro-Fields missed a tackle on a short crossing route.
5:09 Keaton Sutherland gets beat for a sack on third and five to end another 49ers possession. Sudfeld opened the possession with a nice completion up the middle to Ross Dwelley.
5:04 Nate Sudfeld is out for his fourth series. He’s currently 5-7. His incompletions have come after Justin Skule allowed pressure after getting beat and a drop by Tanner Hudson.
5:02 Deommodore Lenoir with nice coverage on a deep shot down the left sideline. The cornerback struggled with the deep routes as a rookie. He’s better than Ambry Thomas right now.
4:55 Can the 49ers catch the ball? Nate Sudfeld hits tight end Tanner Hudson on an out to the right side, but it’s dropped. The fourth drop in the last five 49ers pass attempts.
Robbie Gould kicks a 49-yard field goal to give the 49ers a 3-0 lead.
4:53 Malik Turner forces a fumble on punt coverage. Ability to play special teams will be key for the final receiver on the roster.
4:51 The 49ers offensive line beat on back-to-back plays. Jordan Mills gets beat for a sack, and the next play Aaron Banks allows pressure on Purdy leading to an incompletion.
4:47 Rookie Tariq Castro-Fields with a nice play on a screen out to the left, dropping the receiver after a gain of only one yard. The Vikings have not been able to challenge the 49ers secondary deep yet.
4:40 Jauan Jennings with another drop. He’s struggled to hold on to the ball throughout camp. Trey Sermon follows that up with another drop. Brock Purdy put both passes on their hands.
4:37 Terrific job by Javon Kinlaw to get on the edge of the right guard and he sacks Mond to end the Vikings possession.
4:30 After a gain of 19 on a completion from Nate Sudfeld to Tyler Kroft, the 49ers possession falls apart. Ross Dwelley jumped offside; Ray-Ray McCloud could not hold his block on a toss sweep to the right; Justin Skule jumped offside; Nate Sudfeld overthrows an open Jauan Jennings on third and fourteen. Justin Skule was beat, and the defensive end was in Sudfeld’s face on the play.
4:23 Three fantastic plays by the 49ers defense to force a three and out. Charles Omenihu drops the running back for a gain of only one. Jordan Willis gets to Kellen Mond to force and incompletion. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles plays the screen perfectly along with Samuel Womack to hold Minnesota to only one yard.
4:17 On fourth and inches, Ty Davis-Price runs sideways instead of hitting the hole and is dropped for no gain. The rookie is supposed to be physical, but he dances too much.
4:12 San Francisco sends a blitz, forcing Mond to get rid of the ball early and George Odum comes away with the interception.
Sam Womack came off the edge and Drake Jackson was right in Monds face. The two rookies set that play up for Odum.
4:10 The 49ers got lucky on that first down play. George Odum was beat on the double move down the middle, but Kellen Mond threw incomplete to the outside.
On second and 10 Charles Omenihu loses contain and the Alexander Mattison goes 13 yards for a first down.
3:45 – The 49ers have 27 players not expected to play tonight. This will provide an opportunity for the rookies and those on the roster bubble to show why they deserve to make the team.
A couple of questions come to mind when looking at the list below: Who will start at center with Jake Brendel and Daniel Brunskill out? I think it will be Keaton Sutherland to start, with Dohnovan West coming in. We may see some of Nick Zakelj in there as well.
Who will play fullback? Kyle Juszczyk is out, and the 49ers waived Josh Hokit on Monday. From what I saw at practice on Monday, it will be tight end Ross Dwelley getting those snaps tonight.
3:40
#49ers not expected to play tonight pic.twitter.com/WjzJviJ3sp
— Jack Hammer (@JackHammer_NFL) August 20, 2022
TDP looking awful. Someone needs to scream in his ear that you run forward, and only forward and 4th and inches. What is with these 3rd round RB’s? Too bad we didn’t get a center, safety, or some other position of actual need.
agree
Got to be honest… while I get the logic for choosing TDP, I really didn’t like the player chosen.
I hope his college inconsistency and lack of yards after contact was due to a terrible Oline.
The kid is just a rookie, but watching Davis Price dance in the backfield evokes memories of Kevan Barlow.
Also, been a little disappointed in Kinlaw thus far. I know that he is still working his way back from injury, so he gets a pass in preseason from me. But if he’s going up against 2 tier Oline players it doesn’t bode well until possibly until a few games into the season when he fully has field legs.
Purdy is looking good so far, let’s see if it carries over to the 2nd half.
This O line is terrible. If you’re not very worried you must be very high. I think TDP will be the #4 back and would be a lot better behind a decent O line. Sermon on the other hand is terrible and won’t get picked up when he is cut. Purdy is looking about as good as any one could expect with this O line. Sudfeld is looking ok also. They need to get Kinlaw off the field before he get hurt. He is looking better as a pass rusher than as a run stopper, which is the opposite of his reputation. Charles O is a terrible run defender. I think he is a 3rd down specialist only. All in all a pretty ugly game on the part of both teams. If the O line doesn’t improve greatly (which i’m not sure they can) the D better be ready to pitch some shut outs. imho
Love my Mason! Sermon gets cut.
Mason looks great Vs. 3rd stringers. I hope they give him some carries in the 1st quarter next week.
Cuts coming.
Other than the fumble that cost a TD, Purdy was decent. A lot of drops from backup receivers. Purdy is so much more mobile than Sud.
I don’t think the fumble was Purdy’s responsibility. The Vikes T hit our C before the snap and it totally threw the timing of the play off.
Anyone notice whether Mason played on special teams tonight?
My two “long-shot” players, Poe and Mason did well tonight. Poe will need to work on his pass-pro, but he gets out quickly on zone running plays which is a staple in Shanahan’ offense.
Mason is a north/south RB that runs with good balance and power which is another trait that Shanahan likes. Plus, Mason seems to be a better receiver than Davis-Price.
Price will likely make the team because of his draft status, but I would like to see Mason get more carries against Houston. He and Poe have put themselves in position to make the team imho.
Yeah, I don’t think Sermon or TDP are nfl quality running backs. They just don’t offer much … if they don’t improve or show something more in practice I might cut them both.
They won’t because of their draft position but they both look like they are holding back better players.
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