Sunday: Noon at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 9, 100.3-FM, 1130-AM)
Scouting report: Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers
ABOUT THE 49ers
• The 49ers won six of their last seven games in 2017 and were 5-0 in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's first five starts for San Francisco. Their 6-10 record was the best in NFL history for a team that started 0-9.
• Jerick McKinnon, the ex-Vikings running back who signed a four-year, $30 million contract with San Francisco this spring, will not play this season after tearing an ACL in practice Saturday.
• One of San Francisco's big offseason additions was former Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who is returning from a ruptured Achilles' tendon that ultimately ended his tenure in Seattle.
• Reigning leading 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin is averaging 16.6 yards per reception, which ranks third among active NFL players since 2013 behind only Josh Gordon and DeSean Jackson.
PLAYER SPEAK | QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO
• Tom Brady's former backup enters his first full season as an NFL starter after the Patriots traded him in October for a second-round pick.
• Garoppolo completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,560 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions in six appearances (five starts) last season.
• Vikings end Everson Griffen on Garoppolo comparisons to Brady: "You can bring up some Tom Brady film and watch Garoppolo, and they get the ball out of their hand quick. They are reading, reacting. They are looking at the formations. They are seeing the motions of the safety. They know when the blitz is coming."
• 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on what stood out in Garoppolo's five starts: "The way he made some throws when protection wasn't there, some of the off-schedule plays he made."
COACH SPEAK | kyle shanahan
• Shanahan enters his second season as 49ers coach. He went 6-10 in 2017.
• Shanahan, 38, was Kirk Cousins' offensive coordinator in Washington in 2012 and 2013. He also orchestrated the Falcons' No. 1-ranked scoring offense during the team's 2016's run to the Super Bowl.
• On whether he's got a grip on the Vikings' new-look offense: "Not really. You have an idea of what they want to do. You have an idea of who their players are. We've all seen how talented they are. I know a lot about Dalvin [Cook] from studying him in college and how good he looked."
• On 6-7 defensive tackle DeForest Buckner's impact: "Just his size. Being a three-technique [defensive tackle], it's hard to have guards go one-on-one with him."
Andrew Krammer
about the writer
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.