Vikings newcomers highlight studs and duds from major upset victory over 49ers

The Minnesota Vikings made another major statement on Sunday by taking down the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 23-17, getting their first 2-0 start since 2016.

After beating the New York Giants 28-6 in week one, there were multiple questions on whether or not the Vikings were a good team or they just took advantage of playing a bad one. They answered that on Sunday afternoon by doing so without their top three pass catchers in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Who were the biggest standouts on Sunday afternoon? The studs and duds tell the story well.

Stud: OLB Pat Jones II

This offseason, I believed Jones was a player the Vikings might look to trade at cutdown day. He was entering the final year of his rookie contract and hadn't made a huge difference during his time with the Vikings. Well, he is playing his best football in the first two games of the 2024 NFL season.

Jones had two sacks against the New York Giants and followed it up with another two sack performance. He was getting pressure in a variety of ways and has become a key element of the four edge rusher package that the Vikings are using.

Dud: RB Aaron Jones

Overall, Jones had a pretty good day. He was playing well throughout the game and caught passes to help out Sam Darnold. Ultimately, it was one play that landed him on the list.

Jones caught a screen pass from Darnold and was on the way to getting a touchdown, but Fred Warner, who had a monster game, stopped that from happening by punching the ball out at the two-yard line. The 49ers recovered and took the ball 99 yards for a Jordan Mason touchdown for a full 14-point swing. A brutal miscue from Jones.

Stud: ILB Blake Cashman

When the Vikings spent a bunch of money during free agency this offseason, they focused on the defense with a lot of money being spent on edge rusher. The one addition that didn't get a ton of attention was Cashman at linebacker.

He was all over the field on Sunday for the Vikings. He got his first sack as a member of the Vikings and broke up three passes. Jordan Hicks was solid in the role last year, but Cashman bring a level of speed and athleticism that was missing last season.

Stud: S Josh Metellus

The Vikings have been running three safety looks for the majority of the last two seasons. Having three players on the back end that can do a little bit of everything gives Brian Flores a level of flexibility in how he calls the game and attacks opposing offenses.

Metellus has been the catalyst of that group over the last 19 games and was great again on Sunday. He was flying all over the field making plays and used great hand to eye coordination to intercept a Brock Purdy pass that they immediately converted into a touchdown by Jalen Nailor in the corner of the endzone.

Dud: Vikings turnovers

We already established that the Vikings have had issues with fumbles over the course of the last two seasons, including one on the third offensive play of the season against the New York Giants.

Jones fumbled the ball at the two-yard line and Darnold threw an interception inside the 20 yard line with both leaving to 49ers touchdowns. They had a chance to put the nail in the coffin and made a mistake. If this team really wants to take the next step, this is not something that can continue happening.

Stud: QB Sam Darnold

It wasn't a perfect game from Darnold but the seventh-year signal caller but he came up clutch multiple times for the Vikings. It started with his 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson and his timely runs to gash the 49ers defense are an element that the Vikings haven't had in some time.

It wasn't those things that landed him on this list but rather an impressive drive that he led the Vikings on in the fourth quarter. With Jefferson out with a quad injury , Darnold led the Vikings on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that ate up 6:36 on the clock to get Will Reichard into field goal range to put the Vikings up by three scores 23-14.

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