Week 9 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 3, San Francisco 49ers 9

What you need to know

Minnesota Vikings

Despite holding San Francisco to only 136 total yards and nine points, an anemic Vikings’ offense only managed three points against a very weak 49ers’ defense that was giving up an astonishingly high average of 33 points a game coming into this match-up.

QB Brad Johnson failed to protect the football for a second straight week as he had three turnovers in what was a terrible performance by him and the entire Vikings’ offense. There was plenty of blame to go around for the Vikings’ passing game woes, but Johnson simply played poorly for a second straight week. He made bad decisions with the ball and missed receivers on key passes during the game. Johnson looked like an over-the-hill, 38 year-old quarterback who had no playmakers to go to in the passing offense with an exception of RB Chester Taylor.

RB Chester Taylor was the only bright spot for the Vikings’ offense as he had 138 total yards of the Vikings’ 238 total yards of offense. Taylor could have had an even a bigger day had a very nice 65 yard reception not been called back on penalty. He also had a game high eight receptions for 45 yards in the passing game.

How much of a non-factor were the Vikings’ wide receivers in this game? Travis Taylor, Troy Williamson, Bethel Johnson, and the rest of the receivers combined for five catches for 34 yards. A very underwhelming performance considering they were going up against the second worse pass defense in the league. QB Brad Johnson didn’t get a lot help from his receivers as they dropped a couple balls on critical plays and had trouble getting open through most of the game.

San Francisco 49ers

QB Alex Smith made a few nice plays in the game, but probably the best thing he did in this game was to protect the ball and only turn it over once against a good Vikings’ defense. Smith had dismal game statistically with only 105 yards passing, no touchdowns, and one interception. He did have a decent first half and made a few nice plays to convert on third down. But in the second half the 49ers barely moved the ball and the passing game was nonexistent. Both defenses dominated the second half and San Francisco’s only points in the second half were set up by Vikings DE Darrion Scott’s personal foul penalty that extended a drive.

RB Frank Gore had very little running room against a Vikings’ defense that came in ranked second in the league against the run. He barely averaged two yards a carry in the game and he needed a 11 yard run late in the game to manage that mark. The San Francisco offensive line was clearly outmatched by the Vikings defensive line in the run game. Gore was a favorite target of QB Alex Smith in this game as he led the 49ers with five receptions for 36 yards. He was really the only offense for San Francisco as he had 77 of there 133 total yards.

The much-maligned San Francisco defense played its best game of the year by far by only allowing three points and forcing three turnovers. LB Brandon Moore was in on 14 tackles and one sack.

What you ought to know

QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 21 - 31 - 136 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0

Not only did Johnson fail to make plays in this game, but he failed to protect the ball. He started out well in this game as he completed his first ten passes. Johnson’s only scoring drive in the game was a 15 play, 69 yard drive on the first possession that led to a field goal. It was all down hill after that and he only finished with 136 yards passing as the Vikings were unable to sustain drives and convert third downs. Things started turning sour for Johnson and the Vikings’ offense early in the second quarter. The Minnesota line failed to pick up the San Francisco blitz on the left side of the line allowing defensive tackle Marques Douglas to hit Johnson on his blind side and force a fumble in the second quarter. San Francisco recovered the ball deep in Vikings territory and converted the turnover into three points.

Johnson had another turnover in the third quarter when the ball was batted from receiver Troy Williamson in the third quarter. Johnson did have a 65 yard touchdown pass to Chester Taylor that was called back on a penalty in the third quarter. Johnson’s third turnover came in the fourth quarter when he was sacked and fumbled the ball. He had a chance to win the game with less then two minutes left but the Vikings offense floundered deep in 49ers territory and came up empty once again.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 26 - 96 - 0, Rec: 8 - 45 - 0 (8 targets)

Taylor looked very good in the first half and was the focal point of the Vikings offense as he had 84 total yards in the first half. The Vikings went to Taylor early in the game as he racked up 40 net yards in the first drive of the game that resulted in the Vikings’ only score. But the Vikings offense sputtered after that initial drive and Taylor became the focus of 49ers defense in the second half.

In the second half, the San Francisco defense really keyed on the run and shut Taylor down most of the half by brining up there safeties to stop the run. Because the Vikings pass game was so inefficient they were able to do this quite effectively through most of the half. Taylor was able to turn a little swing pass into a 65 yard touchdown reception, but that play was negated by an illegal block by wide receiver Travis Taylor.

RB Tony Richardson, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (3 targets)

Richardson proved to be a reliable receiver out of the backfield for Brad Johnson as he caught three balls for 33 yards. Johnson threw a lot balls to his backs since he had trouble finding open receivers down the field most of the game.

RB Artose Pinner, Rush: 3 - 29 - 0

Pinner only had six carries the entire year coming into this game, but had three consecutive carries for 29 yards in the fourth quarter in relief of Chester Taylor. Pinner did not get any more carries in the game.

RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Moore was pretty much a non-factor in this game as he only had one carry for negative yardage and one reception for four yards.

WR Travis Taylor, Rec: 3 - 19 - 0 (6 targets)

Taylor’s biggest impact on this game was a horrible penalty he committed on an illegal block during a 65 yard touchdown reception by Chester Taylor that got the play called back. Taylor had three receptions for 19 yards but, he made little impact in the game outside of the penalty.

WR Bethel Johnson, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (5 targets)

Johnson dropped a deep ball he should have had in the second quarter. He made a diving catch for 11 yards for a first down, but on the reply of the catch the ball appeared to hit the ground. The 49ers didn’t challenge the call and it stood as a completion. He also had a pass intended for him broken up by two defenders near the goal line on the Vikings last offense play of the game.

WR Troy Williamson, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (4 targets)

Williamson has had trouble hanging onto the ball this year and he had two big drops. He dropped one he should have had late in the second quarter that would have been at least a 30 yard completion into San Francisco territory on a third down play. Williamson had an even more inexcusable drop on a critical third down with less two minutes left, as the ball hit him in the chest on what would have easily been a first down. Both plays were big mistakes in the game for Vikings.

WR Marcus Robinson

Robinson did not play because of a back injury.

TE Jermaine Wiggins, Rec: 3 - 18 - 0 (3 targets)

Wiggins had three receptions for only 18 yards. He was one of quarterback Brad Johnson’s few reliable receivers in the game.

PK Ryan Longwell 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points

Longwell’s only points of the game came on a 21 yard field goal on the first Vikings’ drive of the game.

MIN Rush Defense

The Vikings rush defense held the 49ers to only 26 rushing yards in the first half and only 42 rushing. The Vikings came into this game ranked number two against the run and they lived up to that ranking by shutting down running back Frank Gore and the San Francisco run game.

MIN Pass Defense

Cornerback Antoine Winfield made a diving interception of quarterback Alex Smith in the third quarter, only two plays after a Vikings’ interception. That was the only turnover for the Minnesota defense, as the 49ers did a good job of protecting the ball.

QB Alex Smith, Pass: 13 - 21 - 105 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 4 - 0

Smith had very bad numbers in the game, but did just enough to win the game. More importantly he did a better job of protecting the ball then his counterpart. Smith led San Francisco to there first score early in the second quarter on 54 yard drive in which 50 of the yards came from the passing game. The 49ers struggled to run the ball early, but did have success throwing it against the Vikings defense early in the half. Smith finished with 72 yards passing in the first half, but couldn’t get into the end zone on two trips to the red zone in the first half.

His only mistake came midway through the third quarter when cornerback Antoine Winfield made a nice interception on a ball intended for Antonio Bryant. He only had 33 yards passing in the second half and didn’t convert any third downs in the second half. The 49ers scored only three points in the half and that came as result of a Darrion Scott personal foul.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 19 - 41 - 0, Rec: 5 - 36 - 0 (7 targets)

Gore had no where to run in the first half as the Vikings’ run defense did a very good job of shutting down the running game. He only had 16 yards on 11 carries in the first half. Things didn’t get much better in the second half for Gore as he only finished with 41 yards against a very good Minnesota rush defense. Gore was able to add 36 receiving to his total in the game. Even though the 49ers were in the red zone a couple times, they never really got close to the goal line and Gore didn’t have any good scoring opportunities in the game.

RB Michael Robinson, Rush: 3 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Robinson only had three yards rushing. On a third down play in the first quarter, he had a tough two yard run where he broke a couple of tackles to gain a first down on a drive that eventually led to a 49ers’ field goal.

WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (5 targets)

Alex Smith’s first three passes went in the direction of Bryant, including the first big play for the 49ers, a 22 yard reception to him. But he was shut the rest of the game with no more receptions and only two more targets thrown his way the remainder of the game.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rush: 1 - -6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (2 targets)

His only catch came on a 18 yard pass for a first down on a third and long play in the first quarter to keep a drive alive deep in Vikings territory that led to San Francisco’s first score of the game. It’s worth noting since San Francisco only converted on three third downs the entire game.

WR Bryan Gilmore, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

Gilmore had only one reception for seven yards in the game.

TE Eric Johnson, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (4 targets)

Johnson had three receptions for 15 yards in the game.

TE Vernon Davis

Davis was inactive again because of injury.

PK Joe Nedney 3 - 3 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 9 points

Nedney drilled a 25 yard field early in the second quarter and added a 30 yard one later in the quarter. On a strange play in the game, Nedney made a 51 yard kick but it appeared the play clock had run out and the 49ers would be penalized. But the officials ruled that because of a malfunction in the play clock the play did not count and San Francisco got to kick it again from the same spot. On his second try from the same distance he made it again.

SF Rush Defense

The 49ers gave up 66 yards rushing to Vikings in the first half and 135 total yards for the game. The 49ers did a nice job of shutting down Chester Taylor most the second half. San Francisco brought up there safeties to stop the run and they were able to do that with efficiency since the Minnesota passing game was so ineffective.

SF Pass Defense

Defensive tackle Marques Douglas made the biggest defensive play of the first half as he came untouched on San Francisco blitz and hit quarterback on his blind side forcing a fumble. The 49ers recovered the ball and it set up a field goal. Walt Harris intercepted a tipped ball in the third quarter while the Vikings were moving the ball in San Francisco territory. Linebacker Brandon Moore sacked Brad Johnson that forced a fumble in the fourth quarter. Moore finished the game with 14 tackles and seemed to be in on every play.