Backups Take Center Stage As San Francisco 49ers Defeat Minnesota Vikings

It was the plan all along. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers had no interest in playing their starters against the Minnesota Vikings Saturday evening.

San Francisco and Minnesota had held joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday. That was enough for the first-teamers to see one another.

Instead, the two teams each rested 27 players while giving others a chance to prove their worth. In what was a pretty sloppy affair, San Francisco came out on top by the score of 17-7.

Backup quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld and Brock Purdy each played two possessions to open the game before alternating drives as the matchup progressed. Sudfeld seemed to outplay his younger counterpart, pretty much locking up the role as Trey Lance’s top backup despite Shanahan’s suggestions to the contrary following the game.

The 49ers’ running game finally got going after struggling in their preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s defense continued to take the ball away at an eye-opening clip. Here’s some of what we learned about San Francisco in this otherwise meaningless game.

Nate Sudfeld Has Full Control Of San Francisco 49ers Offense

By alternating Sudfeld and Purdy Saturday evening, San Francisco wanted us to believe that it was an open competition for the QB2 job. Following the 49ers’ win, that seems to be far from the case.

Sudfeld completed 13-of-17 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown. He seemed to be in complete control of the offense while progressing through his first read on a consistent basis.

Sudfeld has the look of a quality backup after San Francisco received some criticisim for giving him $2 million guaranteed this past offseason. He can be a stopgap option should something happen to Lance under center.

Javon Kinlaw Looks Different

A top-14 pick of the 49ers back in 2020, Kinlaw missed 15 games due to injury over the first two seasons of his career. It led to speculation that he might not have what it takes to be a solid contributor on a consistent basis.

With Kinlaw seemingly 100% healthy and in the best shape of his life, things have changed big time heading into the 2022 season. He looks like a scary force out on the field and a potential key cog on a 49ers defensive line that is as deep as any in the NFL.

“I feel like he’s (Kinlaw) done a really nice job these past couple days of going in and playing with low pads, using his hands inside, and making plays in the backfield,” San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to reporters earlier in training camp. “So he’s doing really good at being focused on the small details of his job, which will allow him to be a very dominant player inside for us.”

San Francisco has been playing it close to the vest in returning Kinlaw to action after he underwent ACL surgery last October. For pretty much the first time since, he saw extended action Saturday night.

That included a brilliant sack of Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond and other disruptive plays. An athletic freak, remaining healthy and showing himself to be consistent will prove to be big for Kinlaw as he enters his third season. If he plays at the level we saw Saturday, it’s just going to make the 49ers’ defensive line that much more dominant.

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Offensive Line Is Going To Be An Issue

Young guards Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford were the only 49ers starting offensive linemen to play on Saturday. Former late-round pick Justin Skule looked absolutely atrocious playing left tackle on Saturday. One week after giving up two sacks, he found himself on the turf too many times and committed multiple penalties. There’s now a good chance that Skule will not make it out of camp with San Francisco.

Banks and Burford took steps back after the two young guards played well in the preseason opener. A miscommunication between backup center Keaton Sutherland and Brock Purdy led to a turnover deep in Minnesota’s territory.

We knew that the offensive line was going to be a major question mark heading into the season. Nothing we saw Saturday with the reserves playing changed that narrative. The hope is that it comes together Thursday with Trent Williams and the first-team likely suiting up minus right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

San Francisco 49ers Running Backs Finally Get Going

Second-year back Trey Sermon continued his preseason struggles despite being on the receiving end of praise from 49ers coaches. He went for just eight yards on five attempts. There’s seemingly an open question whether Sermon will even make the final 53. With drops in the receiving game also becoming an issue, that’s magnified further.

With both Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson sitting this one out, it was other backs who stepped up to provide the 49ers with a consistent rushing attack. Rookie third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price had some nice runs, going for 41 yards on 10 attempts. JaMycal Hasty added 15 yards on three attempts while catching a touchdown. Meanwhile, a relative unknown in that of undrafted rookie free agent Jordan Mason led San Francisco with 57 yards on nine attempts. Could he be another diamond in the rough for Shanahan?

Mitchell will be RB1 once San Francisco kicks off the regular season against the Chicago Bears. With that said, it’s an open competition behind him. We’ll see this ramped up against the Houston Texans on Thursday. But for now, at least the 49ers were able to get their ground game going.

San Francisco 49ers Have A Decision To Make With Brock Purdy

Through two preseason games, this rookie seventh-round pick from Iowa State has been among San Francisco’s most-surprising players. He did a good job Saturday night extending plays behind questionable offensive line play.

There were certainly some rough spots here. But that’s expected from a rookie signal caller making his second-ever appearance in live-game action.

Assuming Sudfeld has the top backup spot locked up, San Francisco now has a major decision to make with Purdy. Will the 49ers opt to keep three quarterbacks on their active roster or will they expose Purdy to the waiver wire in an attempt to stash him on the practice squad? Given how he’s looked through two games, that would be a mighty big risk to take.

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Other San Francisco 49ers Notes

Undrafted free agent guard Jason Poe from Mercer looked darn good in extended second-half playing time. He continually bullied reserve Vikings offensive linemen and was a force at the line of scrimmage. One now has to wonder whether Poe has guaranteed himself a spot on the 53 given San Francisco’s interior offensive line issues.

Jauan Jennings is no longer considered the favorite to be San Francisco’s top slot guy. The former seventh-round pick from Tennessee has had a case of the drops this summer. Saturday against the Vikings saw him catch just two of four targets for seven yards with two drops. Ray-Ray McCloud seems to be the favorite to land the top slot spot with rookie Danny Gray likely seeing a ton of action.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers undrafted free agent tight end Tanner Hudson is clearly making an impact this summer. He joined the 49ers’ practice squad last September before being waived in January and re-signed to the practice squad.

With an open competition behind George Kittle at tight end, Hudson is raising some eyebrows. That included Hudson catching five passes for 43 yards on six targets Saturday night against Minnesota. Being able have a catch-first tight end behind Kittle could prove vital for the 49ers this season. Hudson might very well be that guy.

Rookie cornerback Samuel Womack continued his stellar preseason performance Saturday with a fumble recovery on special teams. This came after the fifth-round pick from Toledo intercepted two passes in his preseason opener. It also comes after San Franciscoo surprised many by releasing veteran Darqueze Dennard earlier in the week, setting the stage for Womack to be its top slot guy.

What’s interesting about Saturday’s usage is that the 49ers moved Womack around. He played both the boundary and the slot. In fact, a Womack blitz led directly to another 49ers interception. This kid is ready to play. It’s that simple.