Skip to main content
Advertising

News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

10 Vikings-49ers Numbers of Note: 46 seasons of MNF

At last, after five preseason games, 15 regular season openers involving 30 other teams and 51 days since the Vikings reported for the 50th training camp at Minnesota State University, Minnesota will open the 2015 regular season at San Francisco at 9:20 p.m. (CT) Monday.

Here are 10 numbers of note to get you ready for the game.

0 — combined starts by Brandon Fusco at left guard, Mike Harris at right guard and T.J. Clemmings at right tackle; the Vikings moved Fusco from right guard, and determined in training camp that Harris would be the right guard; Clemmings is expected to start in place of Phil Loadholt, who is out for the season; with Joe Berger filling in at center for injured John Sullivan, Matt Kalil is the only offensive lineman who will start consecutive openers in the same place

2 — number of touchdown catches by Kyle Rudolph and number of sacks recorded by Chad Greenway in a 24-13 win by the Vikings against the 49ers in 2012, the last time the two teams met; it's the only time Rudolph and Greenway have had multiple scores and sacks in a game

3 — years in a row the Vikings have opened a regular season on the road; Minnesota fell 34-24 at Detroit in 2013 and won 34-6 at St. Louis in 2014; the Vikings record streak of consecutive road openers is six (1990-95)

10 — sacks by Everson Griffen in the past 12 games; Griffen led the Vikings with 12 sacks, 21 tackles for loss and 70 quarterback hurries last season, his first as a starter; San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick took 52 sacks last season (second-most in NFL behind 55 by Blake Bortles) and 13 more than the 39 he took in 2013

15.6 — career yards per catch average by Mike Wallace since entering the NFL in 2009 with Pittsburgh; Wallace, who was acquired via trade with Miami during the free agency period is one of three players in the NFL with 5,000 (5,834) receiving yards, 45 receiving touchdowns (47) and 15 yards per catch along with Jordy Nelson and Calvin Johnson; since 2011, Torrey Smith, who was acquired by the 49ers this offseason, ranks second in the NFL in per-catch average with 16.9 yards per reception (minimum of 200 catches); Smith trails DeSean Jackson's 17.27 average in that span

18 — different Vikings on the 53-man Active/Inactive list from a year ago, including eight of the 10 players selected by Minnesota in the 2015 NFL Draft; Trae Waynes, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, Clemmings, MyCole Pruitt, Stefon Diggs, Austin Shepherd and Edmond Robinson are on the 53-man roster

22 — number of wins and losses by each team in the Vikings-49ers series; the matchup is further knotted by one tie (20 points each) in 1966, the last time the Vikings opened a regular season at the 49ers; the Vikings are 4-1-1 when opening against the 49ers

46 — number of seasons this will be for Monday Night Football; the Vikings and 49ers have met three previous times (1976, 1994-95) on MNF, with San Francisco taking two; this is the 10th year that MNF has kicked off the season with a double header, and the Vikings are 1-1 in that stretch; this is the first time for Minnesota to play the late game, and the Vikings are just the second Central time zone team to open the nightcap on the road; the Vikings are 26-30 all-time on Mondays

98 — average rushing yards per game by Adrian Peterson, who will be returning to action for the first time since the 2014 season opener; that career average is the third highest in NFL history behind Jim Brown (104.3) and Barry Sanders (99.8); since entering the league in 2007, Peterson leads the league with 10,190 rushing yards and 86 rushing touchdowns

103 — passer rating for Teddy Bridgewater in the final five games of 2014, which helped stake his claim for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors; Bridgewater was 101-of-140 passing (72.1 percent) for 1,230 yards with eight TDs and five interceptions in that stretch; Kaepernick has posted a 100 rating 17 times in his career as a starter in the regular season and playoffs, and San Francisco is 16-1 in those games

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising