MINNEAPOLIS — On any given Sunday…
Minnesota shocked San Francisco with a 24-13 win over the 49ers Sunday at Mall of America Field.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph caught two touchdown passes from Christian Ponder, and Ponder ran one in from 23-yards to lead the Vikings offense.
For the day, Ponder completed 21 of 35 passing attempts, for 198 yards.
To see complete video highlights of the game, CLICK HERE.
“Our preparation this week was on point,” Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier said after the game. “The way we prepared this week, you knew that we were going to play good football.”
To see Frazier’s postgame comments in their entirety, CLICK HERE.
The Vikings took a 7-0 lead on their first possession, going 82 yards in 16 plays, and draining 7:40 off the clock. Ponder hit Kyle Rudolph in the back of the end zone on fourth and one at the 1-yard-line to finish the drive.
In the second quarter, Ponder scrambled for a 23-yard touchdown run, stretching the ball across the goal line as he fell. Rookie kicker Blair Walsh tagged on a 52-yard field goal as time expired in the half to give the Vikings a two-touchdown lead.
“We believed we could do it, and we did it,” Ponder said of the victory. “We talked about starting fast, and we started fast.”
To see Ponder’s postgame comments in their entirety, CLICK HERE.
To hear additional interviews from the Vikings locker room, courtesy GamedayGold.com, including comments from Harrison Smith, Jared Allen, Antoine Winfield, Josh Robinson, Letroy Guion and Matt Kalil, CLICK HERE
The 49ers showed a bit of life in the third quarter, as Kyle Williams ran the opening kickoff back 94 yards. That set up a David Akers field goal. In San Francisco’s next possession, quarterback Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis from one yard out to close the gap to 17-13.
The Vikings rebounded on the next possession, however, with another Ponder-to-Rudolph connection. This one was from 2-yards out, to make it 24-13.
The Vikings’ defense was led by linebacker Chad Greenway, who had 13 tackles and two sacks. Jared Allen also got his first sack of the season. It came late in the fourth quarter, as he stripped San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith of the ball, with Brian Robison recovering. After that, the Vikings went into their victory formation to close out the contest.
As for former Viking Randy Moss, the San Francisco receiver had a relatively quiet game, catching just three passes for 27 yards.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 2-1 on the season. Minnesota plays at Detroit next Sunday.
