Last week, the San Francisco 49ers (5-1) got punched in the mouth by the Cleveland Browns in their first loss of the season. Now they’ll get a chance to put that in the rearview mirror with a win over the Minnesota Vikings (2-4) on Monday.
Kickoff from U.S Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday, October 23.
All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
49ers vs. Vikings, Week 7: Pick against the spread
The 49ers suffered their first loss of the season last week after their usually explosive offense was shut down by the Browns vaunted defense. Quarterback Brock Purdy had the worst game of his young career, as he went 12-for-27 for just 125 yards, while Christian McCaffrey only had 43 yards on the ground before he left the game with an injury. Both he and Deebo Samuel left the game with injuries, and are questionable for the game against the Vikings.
The Vikings are coming off their second win of the season but will have their work cut out against a talented 49ers squad. Kirk Cousins, who only threw for 220 yards against the Bears last week, is 11-18 in prime-time games, 2-10 in Monday Night games, and will once again be without Justin Jefferson. Minnesota has a solid defense, but they could end up spending most of the night on the field due to their offensive struggles.
As mentioned above, the biggest thing that can dictate this game is how San Francisco responded to its tough loss last week. Even if Samuel and/or McCaffrey are out or compromised, Kyle Shanahan still has plenty of weapons he can lean on the offensive side of the ball. The biggest thing I’ll be paying attention to is how Purdy responds to his struggles against Cleveland. While I think the defeat exposed some of his limitations as a quarterback, I still think he’ll be able to get San Francisco’s offense humming again, no matter who is out there with him.