Adrian Peterson’s preseason debut lasted two plays and he never touched the ball. Other than that, starters played into the third quarter but the Vikings still lost to the 49ers, 34-14 Sunday night in San Francisco.
Christian Ponder led the Vikings on a couple of scoring drives, but he had to overcome a rough start.
Ponder’s first two passes were incomplete, and he lost a fumble on the third play of the game. He settled in and finished the game 17-23 for 116 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Ponder’s first touchdown was a one-yard pass to rookie fullback Zach Line — his second of the preseason. The second went to Joe Webb on a three-yard lob to the back of the end zone. It finished off an impressive drive where Ponder went 7-9.
Play-by-Play of Ponder’s Passing Plays
- Deep pass incomplete to Greg Jennings…
- Short pass complete to John Carlson… one-yard loss
- Ponder fumbles… recovered by the 49ers
- Short pass complete to John Carlson… two-yard gain
- Short pass incomplete to Greg Jennings… pass was overthrown
- Short pass complete to Cordarrelle Patterson… four-yard gain
- Pass complete to Greg Jennings… 16-yard gain
- Short pass incomplete to Stephen Burton… pass was thrown too high
- Ponder scrambles for a first down… 10-yard gain
- Ponder scrambles for a one-yard gain
- Pass complete to Jerome Simpson… 17-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Toby Gerhart… 11-yard gain
- Short pass complete to John Carlson… four-yard gain
- Pass complete to Stephen Burton… 10-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Toby Gerhart… three-yard gain
- Ponder scrambles for a three-yard gain
- Pass into the end zone incomplete to Greg Jennings… pass interference on the 49ers
- Short pass complete to Zach Line for a one-yard touchdown
- Pass intended for Stephen Burton intercepted by the 49ers… Burton never saw the perfect pass
- Short pass incomplete to Greg Jennings
- Ponder scrambles for a seven-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Jerome Simpson… seven-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Kyle Rudolph… five-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Greg Jennings… six-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Stephen Burton… seven-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Stephen Burton… 14-yard gain
- Short pass complete to Cordarrelle Patterson… six-yard gain
- Pass incomplete to Kyle Rudolph
- Ponder hits Joe Webb in the back left of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown
Can’t Stop Kaepernick
- 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the game 1-7, but finished his night in the second quarter by going 6-6 on a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to rookie Quinton Patton.
Greenway Interception
- Chad Greenway made the defensive play of the game when he read Colt McCoy perfectly and picked off a pass over the middle of the field.
Bad Kick Coverage
- San Francisco’s Lavelle Hawkins took a kickoff back for a 105-yard touchdown return, giving the 49ers a 17-7 lead in the first half.
Cook, Williams Injured
- The Vikings left the game with a couple of injury concerns. Defensive back Chris Cook left the game with a groin injury, and defensive tackle Kevin Williams left the game in the third quarter after getting hit low by a 49er.
Official report on Kevin Williams is that he is out for the remainder of the game with a bruised knee #Vikings
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) August 26, 2013
Bishop Leads in Tackles
- Linebacker Desmond Bishop led the Vikings with nine tackles. He worked quite a bit with the first-team defense.
Felder Returning Punts
- Second year defensive back Bobby Felder returned two punts for a total of 40-yards. His first return went for 30-yards and the second for 10-yards. It’s the second consecutive impressive return week for Felder, who is in a competition for Marcus Sherels for the job. Sherels missed the game to attend the funeral of his late father.
Cassel’s Game
- Backup QB Matt Cassel played just two series’ in the game. He finished 3-10 for 28 yards.
Up Next
- The Vikings close the preseason Thursday night when they host the Tennessee Titans.
Roster Cuts
- The Vikings have to cut the roster down to a maximum of 75 players on the Active List before Tuesday. The final 53 man roster needs to be finalized by 5:00 p.m. CT Saturday.
