49ers vs. Vikings: Full preseason San Francisco grades and analysis

The Minnesota Vikings hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the third game of the NFL preseason. Despite a hot start, the 49ers couldn’t fend off the Vikings in the final moments of the game, losing 32-31. Here are the full postgame grades and analysis from the matchup.

Coming into the game against the Minnesota Vikings, all eyes were on the 49ers starters and how they’d respond to the poor effort against the Denver Broncos the week prior. They did not disappoint, unlike last week.

The first-team offense for San Francisco had really yet to play any sort of productive football this preseason, evident in their inability to finish a drive with a touchdown. In the Vikings game, that was certainly not the case.

All it took was 2:29 of game action for the 49ers starters to register their first touchdown of the preseason, coming on a 46-yard pass between quarterback Brian Hoyer and wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

That was followed up by another stellar drive, again ending in a Hoyer touchdown pass. This one featured running back Carlos Hyde showing off his receiver skills on a 24-yard catch.

On the other side of the ball, the first-team San Francisco defense put on a dominant display, holding the Vikings scoreless until halftime. In all, it was a solid performance from the first-units after getting handled the previous week.

For each position group on both sides of the ball, we’ll have a grade and a breakdown.

Defensive line

The position group that has received the most attention in terms of draft capital in the past few years, the defensive line is what San Francisco is banking their future on. The game against the Vikings showed why they are, with the 49ers only giving up 50 total rushing yards.

The presumed No. 1 and No. 2 running backs in Minnesota, Lataivus Murray and Dalvin Cook, could not do anything against the San Francisco starters. The pair combined for 23 yards on 7 carries, an average of 3.2 yards a carry. As a team, the Vikings averaged 3.1 yards a carry.

The 49ers also were able to get pressure on the quarterback as well, with defensive linemen Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and Elvis Dumervil all registering a sack each. That’s exactly the showing one hopes to get out of their defensive line.

Grade: A

Linebackers

Since training camp opened, rookie linebacker Reuben Foster slowly has been working his way up and showing he very much so deserves to be on this team. Through his play, Foster is letting it be known that he’s already one of the better players this defense has.

Foster showed versus the Vikings just that, notching eight tackles just in the first half. The Alabama product was playing like his college days, being everywhere at once and leveling opponents:

Fellow starter NaVorro Bowman played well too, recording four tackles.

Grade: A-

Secondary

It was an uneven performance for the 49ers secondary against the Vikings. Safety Eric Reid, who’s entering the final year of his contract, has been one of the top players for the team this preseason.

Reid is by far the best player San Francisco has in the secondary, and Sunday’s game was reminiscent of that (via Niner Nabs):

Besides Reid though, it was a struggle for the 49ers defensive backs. Vikings starting quarterback Sam Bradford had an efficient day passing the ball, going 17-21 (80.9%) and 134 yards. That completion percentage is not something that can be allowed during the regular season.

Grade: C-

Quarterback

Starting quarterback Brian Hoyer needed a bounce-back performance after falling flat on his face against the Broncos last week. Hoyer did just that, coming out and playing his best game of the preseason.

The first drive for Hoyer was marvelous. Here is the passing progression:

• Short pass (middle) to Pierre Garçon for 10 yards 
• Short pass (right) to Garçon for 16 yards
• Long pass to Marquise Goodwin for 46 yards — touchdown

It was exactly what Hoyer needed, coming out of the gates hot. The next drive was another thing of beauty, with Carlos Hyde, Matt Breida and Kyle Juszczyk all getting in on the action. The 10-play scoring drive was capped off by a nice play from Hyde:

For the game, Hoyer finished 12-17 for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Quick note — while rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard didn’t have the most complete game, it’s looking more and more likely that Beathard is the definitive No. 2 quarterback. Will Matt Barkley be cut?

Grade: A

Running back

One of my X-factors on offense coming into the game was Carlos Hyde. While rushing the ball was still hard to come by, Hyde flashed some of his athletic ability to receive the ball. Hyde finished the game with 3 receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by the video above. It was impressive from Hyde, who has been struggling this preseason after a reportedly exceptional training camp.

But the attention-grabbing news tonight was undrafted rookie Matt Breida. It was Breida, not Tim Hightower or Joe Williams, who got the nod as the backup running back. The first-year running back was good in Sunday’s game, carrying the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 yards a carry). The play of Breida has some predicting some lofty claims:

Also playing well was Raheem Mostert — on a screen pass from Beathard, Mostert took the ball 87 yards for a touchdown. Mostert finished the game with 2 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, and ran the ball 4 times for 26 yards. The performance has raised questions about the depth chart. Out of Tim Hightower, Joe Williams and Kapri Bibbs, who are the odd men out?

Grade: B+

Wide receiver/Tight end

Leading up to Sunday’s game against the Vikings, the wide receivers had been lackluster for the 49ers. That trend stopped in Minnesota, with the San Francisco wide receiving corps coming to life.

Pierre Garçon showed why he was the team’s top free agent signing, catching 6 balls for 64 yards. But one of the plays of the game came from Marquise Goodwin, who used his speed to blow the top off the defense:

Rookie wide receiver Trent Taylor also had a nice game too, hauling in a first-down conversion while taking a big hit. Taylor had 3 receptions for 36 yards.

Grade: A-

Offensive line

While pass protection has mostly been satisfactory this preseason, the run blocking has not been there for the 49ers. We were reminded of that against the Vikings, again with the starting offensive line failing to provide much running room for Carlos Hyde. Hyde only had 19 yards on 7 carries:

It’s easily one of the weaker points of the team. Joe Staley left the game with a knee injury, but is going to be okay.

Grade: C

Special teams

All things were sailing smoothly for the 49ers special teams — that is until they weren’t. Backup kicker Nick Rose nailed a 55-yard field goal, and starting kicker Robbie Gould made all three of his extra point attempts.

But the kickoff unit failed miserably — Minnesota running back Jerick McKinnon returned a kick 108 yards for a touchdown. That kind of play is what dooms teams.

Grade: D

Coaching

Finally, a game with few penalties. All preseason, it’s been something the 49ers have struggled with. In total, the team had nine penalties versus the Vikings, but only two with the starting units.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan got back into his offensive groove again, appearing to dive a bit deeper into his playbook than he has this preseason. San Francisco gained 471 yards as a team, an indicator of productive football. Shanahan is showing himself to be a master of offense.

Grade: A

Next: 49ers vs. Vikings: The good, bad and ugly from San Francisco’s preseason bout

Despite the loss, it was a much more positive performance put on by the 49ers. The starters, in their time spent on the field, made an impact. It’s a nice confidence booster for the first-team units as the regular season draws closer.