MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, but it came with a bit of a scare after star receiver Justin Jefferson left the game in the third quarter with a quad injury.
Minnesota was able to hang on to stun the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers 23-17, but all eyes will be on Jefferson and his injury moving forward.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Jefferson suffered a quad contusion after getting hit by another player's leg.
"It's pretty sore, but he's already up and moving, and we'll just treat that thing and hopefully he'll be day-to-day and we'll see how his status looks for next week," O'Connell said.
Jefferson was helped off the field by the training staff after going down while blocking on a run play late in the third quarter. He was having a massive game — four catches, 133 yards and a touchdown — before he eventually went back to the locker room for further evaluation.
Jefferson told reporters after the game he's "not seriously injured," but he'll get treatment this week.
Jefferson provided a massive spark for the offense in the second quarter when he got loose for a 97-yard touchdown grab on a beautiful deep ball by quarterback Sam Darnold. Jefferson got behind the coverage and hauled in the pass near midfield before taking it the rest of the way for the score.
"I'm just watching him run around, that was pretty much it," said Darnold of Jefferson's run after the catch. "I was ready to call the next play and then I saw him kind of cross back across the field. I noticed he had a lot of juice to get away from those defenders once he cut across the field. When he cut back, that's when I kind of knew that we were going to score on that play."
The long score wasn't the only explosive play the Vikings made to pull off the upset on Sunday.
The first firework came in the first quarter when C.J. Ham blocked a punt in the first quarter to help set up Minnesota's first score, a 22-yard field goal from rookie kicker Will Reichard.
The defense also came through with a few jolts of their own, starting with a goal-line stand in the second quarter to set up Jefferson's score. Josh Metellus also picked a pass deep in 49ers territory in the third quarter to allow receiver Jalen Nailor to haul in his second touchdown catch of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Minnesota's win over the 49ers:
Darnold dazzles with game on the line
After losing Jefferson late in the quarter, the Vikings were clinging to a slim 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Vikings offense took over on its own 30-yard line and marched 14 plays, taking 6 minutes, and 46 seconds off the clock to set up Reichard for a chip-shot field goal.
On that drive, Darnold went 5 of 6 for 46 yards, including three third-down completions to keep the drive alive. The first was an 11-yard pass to Brandon Powell on third-and-7, and the next went for 26 yards on a third-and-8.
"When (Jefferson) goes down, there's so many moving (parts). It's musical chairs," O'Connell said. "I rely on those guys in that moment to try and piece together some plays on the fly there, and I thought -- it was only for a field goal -- but I thought it was our biggest drive of the day, for sure."
Darnold, who was a backup for the 49ers last season, finished the game 17 of 26 for 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to start 2-0 with his new team.
"The amount of work that goes into that position, on your quarterback journey, when everybody decides that you cannot play. We always believed in him and it felt awesome to see him go do that thing," O'Connell said. "I'm really proud of Sam Darnold."
Van Ginkel continues to shine
Fresh off a pick-six in the season opener against the Giants, Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel put together another solid performance against the 49ers.
The 29-year-old had a sack, his second of the season, two tackles for loss and another pass deflection that nearly turned into another interception. He also nearly got a hand on another screen pass that would have gone for a touchdown, but the pass was just out of his reach and resulted in a minimal gain.
The Vikings surrendered 319 yards passing but were able to get to 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy six times to help derail several drives throughout the afternoon.
Ground game gets going
The 97-yard touchdown connection between Darnold and Jefferson may have been the biggest highlight of the game, but the Vikings' rushing productive ground game helped open up the passing attack.
Minnesota rushed for 146 yards on 6.1 yards per carry, despite starting running back Aaron Jones having a tough go throughout the game. Jones finished with just 32 yards on nine carries, but Ty Chandler provided a spark as he finished with 82 yards on 10 carries. Darnold even got loose on a few plays, rushing for 34 yards on three carries before taking two knees late in the game to secure the victory.
Minnesota's ability to run the ball against the vaunted 49er's defense provides optimism moving forward after finishing near the bottom of the league a year ago.
Extra points
- Pat Jones II continues hot start: The fourth-year edge rusher continues to haunt quarterbacks as he recorded another two sacks Sunday against the 49ers. Jones now leads the team with four sacks in just two games this season.
- Will The Thrill: Rookie kicker Will Reichard connected on all three of his field goal attempts on Sunday, including a game-sealing 27-yarder with 3:30 to play.
