Five Game-Changing Plays In my game preview on Thursday

Vikings vs. 49ers: Youth Linval Joseph Jersey , I predicted that the Vikings would struggle at times on offense but ride their incredibly talented defense to a 24-13 victory over the 49ers. I thought we might see a few hiccups from Kirk Cousins & company working out the kinks, but their day wouldn’t be nearly as rough as Jimmy Garoppolo and the up-and-coming-but-not-quite-there-yet 49ers.I was way off. They won 24-16.But hey, the rest of the stuff was basically right! (Please ignore me getting knocked out of the Survivor Pool in Week 1 for the second straight year later in the article.) It wasn’t always pretty, but the Vikings were able to take care of business and win their home opener on Sunday. Let’s take our weekly look back at the five biggest plays that helped decide the game.Play 1: Vikings ball, 3rd & 3 at the San Francisco 22. Second quarter, 13:44 remaining. (Shotgun) K.Cousins pass deep left to S.Diggs for 22 yards, TOUCHDOWN.Throws like this are why the Vikings paid Kirk Cousins all that money.The Vikings offense made it inside the San Francisco 40 on each of their two drives but were only able to muster three points from it. On their third drive, Cousins came through with a picture-perfect toss to Stefon Diggs on third down for his first touchdown as a Viking.Cousins wasn’t this accurate as often as we may have hoped for throughout the game, but this one was a thing of beauty.Play 2: 49ers ball, 2nd & goal at the Minnesota 1. Second quarter, 2:34 remaining. A.Morris up the middle to MIN 1 for no gain (L.Joseph). FUMBLES (L.Joseph), RECOVERED by MIN-H.Smith at MIN 2. H.Smith to MIN 2 for no gain (P.Garcon).San Francisco was three feet away from tying the game late in the second quarter. On the first & goal play before this, Alfred Morris was very fortunate to recover his own fumble after Eric Kendricks knocked it out.Fortunately for the Vikings, Morris didn’t learn from his mistake.Andrew Sendejo made the initial contact, Linval Joseph poked the ball out, and Harrison Smith recovered at the 2 to keep the lead going into halftime. It was a huge play that featured some great defensive teamwork from Minnesota. If the 49ers scored there and it was tied at the half, this game may have unfolded much differently.Play 3: 49ers ball, 3rd & 8 at the San Francisco 20. Third quarter, 10:48 remaining.(Shotgun) J.Garoppolo pass short right intended for K.Bourne INTERCEPTED by M.Hughes at SF 28. M.Hughes for 28 yards, TOUCHDOWN.Pretty decent way to make your NFL debut. With Mackensie Alexander sidelined, rookie corner Mike Hughes played 52 of 66 defensive snaps and acquitted himself quite nicely. He allowed three receptions on six targets for 59 yards according to Pro Football Focus. While this pick six was more being in the right place at the right time than shutdown coverage Youth Everson Griffen Jersey , Hughes showed why the Vikings thought so highly of him in the draft. Alexander might have to be worried about getting his job back after he recovers from injury.Play 4: Vikings ball, 2nd & goal at the San Francisco 11. Third quarter, 4:27 remaining.(Shotgun) K.Cousins pass short right to K.Rudolph for 11 yards, TOUCHDOWN.After the pick six, the Vikings had a chance to put the game away on their following drive with a 17-6 score. That’s just what they did. Adam Thielen had a big 34-yard reception on third down that put the Vikings in San Francisco territory. Cousins found David Morgan in a very tight window to keep the sticks moving and make it first & goal. Two plays later, we welcomed an old friend back into our lives: Rudolph the Red Zone Reindeer.It was another gorgeous touch pass from Cousins for what would turn out to be the only reception of the day for Kyle Rudolph. Cousins and the Vikings offense as a whole had a rather up-and-down day overall. But man, were some of those “ups” way up there. The potential to be a very potent offense showed on plays like this.Play 5: 49ers ball, 3rd & goal at the Minnesota 4. Fourth quarter, 8:18 remaining. (Shotgun) J.Garoppolo pass incomplete short middle to G.Kittle.San Francisco was once again knocking on the door late in an 11-point game. Once again, they couldn’t get out of their own way.George Kittle had a very good game overall, catching five passes for 90 yards and giving the Minnesota defense fits much of the day. He also had two very crucial passes go through his hands. This one wasn’t all his fault since Garoppolo sailed it a bit. It made the 49ers settle for a field goal. The other was definitely Kittle’s fault, and it negated what would have been a huge gain on the play before the Hughes pick six. If he holds onto either pass, the 49ers would have had a much better chance to pull off the upset.As always, we welcome you to vote in the poll to tell us which play you thought was the biggest and encourage you to suggest any we may have missed in the comments. The Vikings are still a bit of a work in progress early in the season, but a 1-0 work in progress certainly beats the alternative. When Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers last year, his top priority was acquiring the type of quarterback he could try to help mold into the star this franchise of Joe Montana and Steve Young has lacked for so long.Before the 49ers got Jimmy Garoppolo, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch had their eyes on Kirk Cousins.Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for Cousins in the fourth-round draft pick's first two years in the NFL with Washington, which used the franchise tag in consecutive offseasons to delay free agency when the two sides failed to reach a long-term contract agreement. Eventually, Cousins was going to be available."I thought we'd have a very good chance," Shanahan said, adding: "I think we fell into another alternative option that was pretty darn good."Last year http://www.thevikingsfootballauthentic.com/xavier-rhodes-jersey-authentic , the 49ers swung a trade at the deadline with New England for Garoppolo. They won the last five games, all after Garoppolo took over as the starter, to create a groundswell of confidence they're back on track as a contender .Cousins took an $84 million fully guaranteed contract from Minnesota , where the 49ers will open the season on Sunday and Shanahan will surely share a warm pregame greeting with his former pupil."Much of the way that I play the position to this day is a result of the way that he taught me as a young player," Cousins said.Stuck behind Robert Griffin III his first two years, Cousins developed so well with Washington that he ultimately moved ahead of the second overall pick in the 2012 draft.Mike Shanahan, Kyle's father, was the head coach until his firing after the 2013 season. His successor Jay Gruden had no choice but to stick with Cousins."He's the guy who gave them a chance to win for about four years," Shanahan said. "So I was really happy for him doing that, and I'm even more happy that he's out of there doing it for someone else. I just hope it's not on Sunday."Here are some other angles to follow for the game:REPLACEMENT RUNNERS: The 49ers made former Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon their top target in free agency, giving a $30 million contract to be the featured ball carrier.Shanahan was excited about McKinnon's versatility, counting on significant contributions from the fifth-year player in the passing game as well as on the ground, but McKinnon tore the ACL in his right knee in practice last week and will sit out his first season with San Francisco."Since the day we signed him we've been game-planning for Minnesota," Shanahan said. "So I'm not going to lie: It changes things pretty drastically."The roles of Alfred Morris and Matt Breida will be elevated in McKinnon's absence. The fact that the opener is against his old team made the injury even worse."I was more devastated when it happened, just the feeling knowing that it wouldn't be all right for Week 1," McKinnon said.COOKED TO ORDER: McKinnon's role with the Vikings last year was elevated after Dalvin Cook tore his left ACL in the fourth game. Latavius Murray was especially productive over the second half of the schedule, too, but Cook has worked his way back to where he left off in that abbreviated rookie season."My knee is fine. It's ready to go. I'm ready to play. Those carries were a plus. But I've been practicing the whole time, getting reps and going full speed," he said.GOODWIN'S GROWTH: Marquise Goodwin had 613 receiving yards over the last eight games of 2017, a breakout performance in his fifth year. Drafted in the third round by Buffalo Youth Harrison Smith Jersey , Goodwin never clicked there but now gives Garoppolo a potent downfield target.Vikings coach Mike Zimmer recalled being wowed by the speed of Goodwin, who made the 2012 U.S. Olympic team as a long jumper, when he was at Texas to watch another prospect's pre-draft workout."He's got such great speed, and that's always been there, but now he's become an all-purpose receiver," Zimmer said. "He goes over the middle. He catches underneath balls. He's improved a lot."UNCLE SHERM: Cornerback Richard Sherman will make his debut for the 49ers, the team he tormented so often with Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense. Sherman was released following a left Achilles tendon rupture that limited him to nine games last year.After dealing with some minor injuries in training camp, the four-time Pro Bowl pick is eager to play his first game that counts in 10 months. He'll have an immediate challenge opposite Minnesota's wide receiver duo of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, who have not only been adjusting to Cousins but to new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo."We're excited to see how he's going to call a game," Thielen said. "We got a glimpse of it in preseason, but it'll be fun to see what he does for a full 60 minutes."ROOKIE ROLES: The 49ers will lean heavily on two rookies: Fred Warner and Mike McGlinchey. Warner, a third-round draft pick from BYU, will play middle linebacker for Reuben Foster, who must serve a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's conduct and substances of abuse policies. McGlinchey, the first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, will start at right tackle opposite Danielle Hunter, the rising star at defensive end for the Vikings."I'm just going to do my job," McGlinchey said. "That's what I came here to do. There's no pressure because that's what I expect from myself."