San Francisco 49ers: 3 Big takeaways from loss vs. Vikings in Week 1

The San Francisco 49ers produced a performance to encourage and frustrate in equal measure against the Vikings in Week 1. Here are our big takeaways.

The San Francisco 49ers slipped to defeat in their 2018 opener on the road against the Minnesota Vikings in a performance that left reason for both encouragement and frustration.

San Francisco still had a chance to win late in the fourth quarter and the fact the Niners only lost 24-16 to a team viewed by many as Super Bowl contenders is a sign of the progress they have made.

However, it could have been so much better for the 49ers were it not for a series of miscues. Here we look at three takeaways from the Week 1 loss.

Missed opportunities and injuries doom 49ers

Once the 49ers settled in, they had little problem moving the ball on the Vikings, they had only 16 total yards fewer than Minnesota, but it is clear finishing drives remains a problem after San Francisco’s offense left 35 points on the field.

The Niners were 1-of-4 in the red zone, with Alfred Morris’ fumble on the 1-yard line when San Francisco was trailing 10-3 as one of a number of missed opportunities that proved pivotal. Dante Pettis and Pierre Garcon were each unable to hang on to would-be touchdowns while George Kittle let a deep pass slip through his fingers with only green grass ahead of him.

Kittle would have had a touchdown that, presuming the 49ers would have gone for the two-point conversion afterwards, would have helped them pulll within three points in the fourth quarter. However, Garoppolo’s pass was high and San Francisco settled for a field goal.

Garoppolo was under pressure on that play, as he was for much of the day, with foot injuries to right guards Mike Person and Joshua Garnett forcing a reshuffle up front that made life even more difficult for the Niners offensive line against one of the best defenses in football. Rookie debutant Mike McGlinchey moved to right guard, a position he did not play in college, and Garry Gilliam came in at right tackle.

The right side was subsequently a problem in both the running and passing game and the 49ers will hope to get at least one of them back as they face a daunting series of defenses in the coming weeks. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported both Person and Garnett were “moving OK” in the locker room afterwards, which is at least something of a hopeful sign for the 49ers after their absences contributed to an at best spotty performance from Garoppolo.

Garoppolo gets off to sloppy start

Garoppolo’s sole touchdown throw to Pettis, in which he evaded pressure and scrambled to his left to re-adjust and connect on a stunning pass to the back of the end zone, was one of the best of his career. Yet it came in the worst game of his career.

The location of his throws was far from consistent and, though the situation called for it with the 49ers behind the entire game, he was guilty of pressing the ball into tight windows and paid the price with three interceptions.

His first saw him throw to the inside as Kendrick Bourne ran his route to the outside, Mike Hughes taking advantage to return it for a touchdown. Bourne took responsibility by claiming he ran the wrong route, but Garoppolo’s second pick was definitely on the quarterback as he put the ball too far in front of Pettis, though he was somewhat unfortunate to see Xavier Rhodes make an incredible juggling play on the ball.

The game-clinching interception saw Harrison Smith read Garoppolo’s eyes as he attempted to push the ball to Trent Taylor in double coverage, a throw that would have been ambitious even without Smith spying him.

Garoppolo’s disappointing showing was the result of questionable ball placement and decision-making, as well as a break down in the pass protection he enjoyed in preseason because of the injuries at right guard. He did not have a lot of help from his receivers but, with or without Person or Garnett, Garoppolo will be aiming for a big bounce-back game in Week 2. The smart money is on him delivering it.

Defense keeps Niners alive

The primary reason why the 49ers were still in the game going into their final offensive drive was because of an outstanding effort by the defense, which held the Vikings offense to just 17 points.

San Francisco’s pass rush did a much better job than it has in recent seasons, consistently hurrying Kirk Cousins and sacking him three times, the excellent DeForest Buckner almost reaching his 2017 sack total in one game as he accounted for 2.5 of those.

The Niners will, however, be disappointed they did not get to Cousins more often, the former Washington quarterback managing to evade the San Francisco’s rush with his legs on numerous occasions. There will also be questions asked of Ahkello Witherspoon, who allowed a Stefon Diggs touchdown reception, and of Jaquiski Tatt, who gave up a score to Kyle Rudolph. On both occasions the defender had an opportunity to make a play on the ball and prevent the touchdown.

Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook proved near impossible of the 49ers to defend in the passing game. However, Cook had little joy in the running game, in which the Vikings managed just 3.6 yards per carry. Much of that credit there must go to rookie linebacker Fred Warner, whose debut at the MIKE linebacker spot could hardly have gone better. Warner had 11 tackles and was a force not only near the backfield and near the line of scrimmage but at the second level, excelling in pass coverage and forcing a fumble from Cook as he attempted to take a carry for a touchdown.

Warner did all this while communicating the team’s defensive play calls and should now be a tough player to take off the field going forward. The performance of Warner and the entire defense put the 49ers in a position to potentially triumph. Offensive miscues stymied their efforts  but thankfully Shanahan and Garoppolo are a coach-quarterback combination good enough to make sure such an opportunity is not wasted the next time they are in such a position.