Week 12 Players of the Game: Minnesota at San Francisco

Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen
Sep 27, 2020; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Good effort from the boys in purple this week. They came up short but fought hard on the road. A few bad decisions, a few mistakes, a few missed opportunities, and a few tough breaks. I’m hoping the Dalvin injury isn’t serious and I believe Mattison can still fill in nicely in his absence. I didn’t love the play calling this week on offense. I think they could’ve been more aggressive in the passing game, but the offensive execution also wasn’t great. Just one of those games where it wasn’t going to be the Vikes’ day. 

Adam Thielen

5 catches for 62 yards and a pair of scores. Thielen seems to have a knack for getting in the end zone more than any other receiver on this team. He isn’t putting up the volume numbers he once did, but he is just as important as he ever has been. He was also robbed of a nice catch by the refs and the review team who somehow didn’t see his hands beneath the ball. Thielen has the best hands on the team, and I love to see him make the seemingly unbelievable catches and get his toes in on the end line. 

Harrison Smith

Hitman got the first turnover of the game and helped the Vikes get up by 7 early. It was a drive that was going a little too easy for the 49ers and he ended it. He also led the team in tackles and was all over the field in run defense. The team needed it with half the DL out of the game. Unfortunately, when your safety is helping this much in the run game it usually means the opposing team is getting 5-6 yards per carry. Just a tough assignment when the team is shorthanded.

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Justin Jefferson

Hard to have two WRs on the list when the offense only put up 256 yards in the air, but JJ was balling too. He only had 4 catches for 83 yards, but he easily would’ve been over 100 yards if Kirk didn’t miss him on a couple of throws. JJ could’ve had three additional catches that were just missed throws by Kirk. The 2-pt conversion was thrown in the dirt with JJ wide open. The 4th and goal was thrown nearly into the stands with JJ getting covered, but we’ve seen him make those catches. The last offensive play of the game also gave him no chance. Not trying to kill Kirk, just trying to say that JJ played just as well as he did in previous weeks. He just can’t get himself the ball.

Kene Nwangwu

Anytime you have a kickoff return for a TD you had an impact on the game. This kickoff return came after the Vikings went down by 11 points and the first double digit deficit of the game. Kene re-energized the team and brought the game back within reach. The defense kept the 49ers to an 8-yard drive and quickly got the ball back to the offense. Unfortunately, the Cook injury killed that momentum, but it was a game changing play by Kene. He doesn’t get a ton of opportunities, but he makes the most of them when he does.

Anthony Barr

This might be a stretch to get another player on the list, but Barr played well. Back-to-back weeks where I thought Kendricks looked mediocre. Barr had a nice bull rush on Wonnum’s sack. I counted 5 run stops for Barr as well. He might get dinged by PFF because he did give up a couple of receptions, but overall he played well. Hopefully his injury isn’t too serious.

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