49ers News: Hello Darkness, our old friend

Barrows: 49ers need Brandon Aiyuk-Brock Purdy connection to shake off rust for offense to return to form (paywall)

“Those passing yards didn’t come easy.

Nearly all of Samuel’s catches were highly contested throws across the middle in which Samuel, a credit to him, was able to secure the ball amid a sea of Vikings’ hands.

A typical Purdy pass saw him drop back, then wait — and wait and wait and wait — for a receiver to come open. His time-to-throw statistic — how much time elapses between the snap and throw — on Sunday was 3.02 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats. Last week it was 2.74 seconds.”

49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk, at ‘85%,’ has another quiet performance in loss to Vikings (paywall)

“Aiyuk skipped the offseason program and was a training camp hold-in before he signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension. He practiced for the first time on Sept. 3, six days before the season opener.

“He’s been where he needs to be,” Purdy said. “There’s probably a couple routes maybe in certain looks where we both could have been better on some stuff. But that’s like early-in-the-season stuff, if you ask me. I know we’ll continue to get better together in our connection.”

What we learned as 49ers’ blunders bring loss vs. Vikings

“Coach Kyle Shanahan showed an uncharacteristic aggressive side early in the second quarter when he kept the offense on the field for fourth down.

It was a fourth-and-3 situation from the Minnesota 45-yard line, and Purdy hit Jauan Jennings for a 25-yard gain.

But two subsequent gambles did not pay off, and the 49ers turned the ball over on downs in back-to-back possessions.

Shanahan elected to pass up the short field goal on a fourth-and-2 situation. Andrew Van Ginkel and Harrison Smith broke up the pass for Jennings.

On the next possession, trailing 10-0, the 49ers went for it on fourth and 2 from the Minnesota 43. Purdy did not find anyone open and picked up just 1 yard on a scramble.

Last year, the 49ers went for it on fourth down just 13 times in 17 games and converted seven of those attempts.”

Silver: 49ers beaten by the monster Kyle Shanahan created: Sam Darnold, rebooted by his backup stint (paywall)

“As with his later pass to Nailor, Darnold was helped by his familiarity with the 49ers’ personnel. And in this case, a coverage breakdown involving safeties Brown and George Odum played a role in the debacle.

The Vikings, with a 3-0 lead, had just broken up Purdy’s 4th-and-goal pass for Jauan Jennings and taken over at their own 2 with 10:27 remaining in the first half. On 2nd-and-9 Darnold took a snap from center, faked a handoff to running back Aaron Jones and set up in the pocket.

The 49ers were in “single-safety man” coverage, with Brown deployed in the deep middle and Odum attempting to shadow Jefferson. Nailor, who lined up just outside of Jefferson on the right, cut across the field on an “over” route that temporarily froze Brown. With Odum trying to protect the outside of the field, Jefferson raced free up the middle and caught Brown flat-footed as Darnold set his feet and unleashed a glorious deep ball to the fastest man on the field, who was already free and clear.

Jefferson caught it just beyond midfield, broke to his left and then cut back across the field for a touchdown, with both safeties in futile pursuit. To their credit, each assumed his share of the blame afterward, with Odum (who was later replaced by rookie Mustapha) telling me he needed to be more disciplined in his technique and stay outside, and Brown acknowledging he was too shallow.”

CMC’s injury changes who 49ers are even as Mason thrives

“I think just being able to drop back in zone and not having to put two guys on a running back coming out of the backfield like Christian,” quarterback Brock Purdy answered when asked how teams can play the 49ers differently when their top back is not on the field.

49ers’ Fred Warner has virtuoso performance vs. Vikings: ‘The best in the world’ (paywall)

“In 2018, Warner, a third-round rookie from BYU, offered the first evidence that he might be a mid-round steal when he had 12 tackles and a forced fumble in his NFL debut at Minnesota. On Sunday, back at U.S. Bank Stadium, his performance strongly suggested he’s a three-time All-Pro ascending to a new stratosphere.

His stat line: nine tackles, one interception, one sack, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles. With a forced fumble in the season-opening win against the Jets, Warner became one of three players in NFL history to have at least three forced fumbles in the first two games of a season.

“He’s playing at an even higher level than he has in the past, which is saying a lot,” pass rusher Nick Bosa said. “He’s like my security blanket out there.”

49ers’ third-down defense sinks them in loss to Sam Darnold and the Vikings (paywall)

“Jefferson made Brown think he was breaking inside.

“That kind of slowed me down,” Brown said in the locker room. “I anticipated him going over, and he just took the roof off. Sam did a hell of a job throwing it. He let that thing go.”