49ers vs. Vikings: 5 bold Week 1 predictions for San Francisco

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 27: D.J. Jones #96 of the San Francisco 49ers tackles Latavius Murray #25 of the Minnesota Vikings in the preseason game on August 27, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the 49ers 32-31. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers open up the 2018 regular season with a road contest against the Minnesota Vikings, and Niner Noise dishes out some bold predictions for this Week 1 game.

In many ways, it’s good the San Francisco 49ers have arguably their toughest test of the 2018 season right out of the gate — a Week 1 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, who rode a 13-3 record last year all the way to the NFC Championship game.

The Vikings are Super Bowl contenders this year, while the Niners are at least a few players away from the same discussion.

Nevertheless, it’s beneficial for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. to test their mettle against one of the top teams in the conference.

According to Odds Shark, the 49ers are 6.5-point underdogs heading into Sunday’s bout.

Pulling off a victory is going to be tough from San Francisco’s vantage point. But it’s not out of the question either. In Week 16 last year, the Niners upset the Jacksonville Jaguars in a surprising 44-33 victory at Levi’s Stadium. And Jacksonville was equally as potent on both sides of the ball, while the 49ers offense wasn’t quite on par with the level it’s expected to be in 2018.

That game was at home for the Niners, though, and Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium is shaping up to be one of the toughest venues for opponents to succeed in.

To pull off a victory, San Francisco will need to pull off some bold predictions in this Week 1 bout. So that’s what we’ll break down here — five bold predictions for Shanahan’s squad in the team’s season opener.