It’s Jim Tomsula time in San Francisco. With Jim Harbaugh choosing to coach college kids over the San Francisco 49ers, the future of the Niners is now in the hands of Tomsula, the team’s former defensive line coach. The 49ers will open the season at home, where Colin Kaepernick and company look to start the post Harbaugh-era on the right foot against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are thrilled to have Adrian Peterson back. Together with the rapidly improving Teddy Bridgewater, Peterson and the Vikings will look to build on their overachieving 2014 season. Beating San Francisco right in its own backyard wouldn’t be a bad start for Minnesota.
Read on for more about this matchup. For more Week 1 game preview, you can click here for Lions vs. Chargers and here for Dolphins vs. Redskins.
[sc:Football ]Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
When: Monday, September 14, 10:20 AM ET
Line: Minnesota Vikings (-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (+2); total: 41.5 – see all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN/WatchESPN
Betting on the Minnesota Vikings
[sc:NFL240banner ]The biggest storyline for the Vikings coming into the new season is the return of Adrian Peterson, who is hell bent on dominating the league—again. He’s also going to be the biggest weapon the Vikings will have on the field.
With Peterson back in the mix for Minnesota, the Vikings can expect significant improvements on an offense that finished 27th overall a year ago with 315.5 total yards per game. Then-rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater carried most of the burden on offense, as the former Louisville Cardinal threw for 2,919 yards and 14 touchdowns while rushing for 209 yards and reaching the end zone once.
Peterson will definitely ease some load off Bridgewater. Peterson’s presence would allow Bridgewater to focus more on hooking up with his top receivers, namely newcomer Mike Wallace, Jarius Wright, and Charles Johnson. Wallace is a suitable replacement for the departed Greg Jennings, who led Minnesota last season in receiving yards and touchdowns. Wallace had 862 receiving yards and caught 10 TDs as part of the Dolphins last season.
As for the defense, the Vikings are hoping for continued maturity and improvement on the part of linebacker Anthony Barr, who was a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate last year. Barr had 4.0 sacks and 70 tackles in just 12 games. Everson Griffen, meanwhile, was the undeniable king of Minnesota’s pass rush after coming up with a career-high 12.0 sacks. Barr and Griffen may have a field day against the 49ers, who allowed 52 sacks last season.
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Betting on the San Francisco 49ers
Perhaps no team in the NFL had a worse offseason than San Francisco. Washington may be an all-around flop as well, but the Redskins can’t hold a candle to the 49ers when it comes to morphing from a Super Bowl contender into a wasteland in such a short time. The 49ers saw Jim Harbaugh walk away to Ann Arbor. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman is now with the Bills. A slew of players would wear either new NFL uniforms or proper courtroom attires this year. On top of that, some have opted to retire.
What’s left of the 49ers is a team with questions in just about every facet of their game.
At least the 49ers have no quandary in the quarterback position with Colin Kaepernick having a firm grip of the job. Despite the departure of Michael Crabtree, Kaepernick still have decent targets in Anquan Boldin and offseason acquisition Torrey Smith. Boldin paced the team with 1,062 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season, while Smith managed to snare 11 touchdowns despite receiving for only 767 yards with the Ravens in 2014.
The 49ers O-line, however, have to keep Minnesota’s aggressive pass rush from mauling Kaepernick. The 49ers can opt to go run heavy against Minnesota, though, considering the Vikings’ seemingly porous defense against the run. Last season, the Vikings let opposing teams run for 121.4 yards per game, 25th in the NFL.
That should be good news for Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush. With Frank Gore gone, Hyde now takes the reins in the backfield. The Ohio State product rushed for 333 yards and four touchdowns last season, but those numbers should go up along with his carries. Bush, meanwhile, is running on fumes and is looking to bounce back after bottoming out in Detroit. He recorded 297 rushing yards and just two touchdowns for the Lions last season.
Writer’s Prediction
Minnesota (-2) wins, 21-15.
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