What’s the 49ers gameplan against Sam Darnold and the Vikings?

The San Francisco 49ers will face off against a familiar face in Week 2 when they travel to face the Minnesota Vikings, as the defense will go against quarterback Sam Darnold, who was named the starter ahead of the season.

Darnold was the backup to Brock Purdy for the 49ers in 2023, beating out former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance. While he suited up and played in 10 games for San Francisco in 2023, he wasn’t required to do much, ultimately passing for 297 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception over the whole year. Those numbers mainly came from his Week 18 start against the Los Angeles Rams, which occurred when the 49ers had already clinched the No. 1 seed.

Now the starter for Minnesota, Darnold had a successful debut, passing for 208 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick, while completing 79.2 percent of his passes in the Vikings 28-6 victory over the New York Giants.

Darnold started the game extremely hot, completing his first 12 passes, while Minnesota jumped up to a 14-3 lead at halftime, which could’ve been even more if not for a fumble from running back C.J. Ham.

He’ll face a much tougher challenge against the daunting 49ers defense in Week 2, who just limited quarterback Aaron Rodgers to 167 yards in the season opener, while forcing two turnovers and allowing just 13 points to the starters.

Has Darnold grown from a season ago in the eyes of the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan?

“”Yeah, I did [see him grow week-to-week last year],” Shanahan said ahead of the game. “I think just, Sam had been in a lot of different offenses and a few different teams and stuff. I think just the more, he always could make plays and stuff, but the more he got used to what we were asking and it’s hard when you ask some people to do stuff that they haven’t done before, because sometimes you’ve got to get worse before you get better. But Sam came in with such a good mindset. He was so detailed in what he did, really never wavered and really tried to pick stuff up. I thought he came in really good and I thought he got better throughout the year.”

“Loved having Sam here, he was an awesome guy. He’s been that way everywhere he’s been. And we found it out personally here. But always liked Sam before he got here. Just his talent level from college and what you’d seen in NFL and was exactly as good as advertised. He’s such a good athlete, so tough, can make any throw. And really enjoyed working with him. I thought he got better throughout the year. He was always ready to get more opportunities in the games if something bad happened. Fortunately for Brock [Purdy] we didn’t have to do that till the last week. But it was really good having him here as a number two.”

Darnold will have an elite option with Justin Jefferson at his disposal, while the Vikings had a strong game on the ground in Week 1, as Aaron Jones rushed for 94 yards and a score on 14 carries against the Giants. He’s also working alongside one of the NFL’s top playcallers in Kevin O’Connell, who called a great game against New York in the opener.

That two-pronged attack will be important if the Vikings want to pull off a major upset, but it will be tough to stifle the 49ers defense, who were able to successfully shut down the Jets in the air and on the ground in Week 1.