The Athletic doesn't have much hope for Vikings against the 49ers

The Giants may be a bad football team, but the Vikings shocked some people with their play last weekend. Sam Darnold was great, Aaron Jones played well, and the Vikings’ defense was flying all around the field.

But the Vikings have a serious challenge this weekend. When San Francisco comes to town, Minnesota will host one of the better teams in the NFL.

Vic Tafur with The Athletic is giving Minnesota zero chance against the 49ers.

“All of the 49ers targets will expose the Vikings secondary, and one of them, Brandon Aiyuk, will knock off some more rust and won’t be dropping touchdowns like he did against the Jets. Plus, we have another double-down opportunity. Sam Darnold looked good last week against the shellshocked Giants, but the Niners know their former backup well and will expose all his flaws. Darnold was 5-for-5 for 81 yards and two touchdowns when the Giants blitzed him, but the 49ers can apply pressure without exposing themselves. I don’t care if the 49ers travel halfway across the country in a short week; the Vikings are just too outclassed.”

Time will tell how the Vikings do against the 49ers’ potent offensive attack. But if Christian McCaffrey doesn’t suit up for the 49ers, that bodes well for Minnesota — of course, Jordan Mason was excellent in his place last week.