Vikings lose Justin Jefferson to quad injury in 23-17 win over 49ers

Kevin O'Connell reacts after Vikings beat 49ers 23-17

Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell speaks with reporters after a 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium to start the 2024 season 2-0.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0 after a 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, and they're confident the right quad injury Justin Jefferson suffered in the third quarter is not serious.

Jefferson left the game after taking a hit to his right leg from Fred Warner on a Ty Chandler run. He went to the locker room, and did not return. He finished with four catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. He said in the locker room after the game he'll be fine.

"Not overly concerned. Just a little thigh bruise, contusion, whatever you want to call it. Something that happens a lot," Jefferson said. "I'll be ready next Sunday."

Vikings locker room reacts to 23-17 win over 49ers

Vikings players Justin Jefferson, Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jalen Nailor, Pat Jones II, Josh Metellus and C.J. Ham react after a 23-17 win over the 49ers on Sunday to start the season 2-0.

Sam Darnold leads Vikings to 23-17 win over 49ers

Vikings QB Sam Darnold speaks with reporters after a 23-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Why it matters

The Vikings are already without Jordan Addison, so losing Jefferson would hurt even more. The Vikings won their home opener against a team that won the NFC last season and played in the Super Bowl.

"When you play the defending NFC Conference champions, you know you’re signing up for a 12-round heavyweight fight. I love this team. It takes a result sometimes for people to see it, and I understand that, but I’m very proud of this result today," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said. "If you can't tell, I'm absolutely exhausted."

The Vikings improved to 19-0 under O'Connell when they are even or ahead in turnover margin. Each team had two turnovers Sunday.

The big play

After making a goal line stop, the Vikings were backed up at their own 3-yard line. Until they weren’t. Sam Darnold hit Jefferson for a 97-yard touchdown on a pass that traveled 54 yards in the air. Jefferson beat two 49ers defenders in coverage and did the rest, giving the Vikings a 10-0 lead with 9:35 left in the first half. O'Connell said after the game it took some "self talk" to make the call.

"The 97-yarder was one of the prettiest throws I’ve seen," O'Connell said.

"It was a great ball by Sam. Always dreamt of a 95-plus larder," Jefferson said.

"Just trusting Jets to obviously beat his man, but also beat the safety. Just tried to put it out there for him and obviously he got it and did the rest. When he cut back, that’s when I knew we were going to score on that play," Darnold said.

Not one, but two 4th down stops

The Vikings made a pair of fourth down stops in the first half Sunday. On 4th and goal from the 2-yard line, Andrew Van Ginkel tipped a Brock Purdy pass at the line that Harrison Smith knocked away for a turnover on downs. The 49ers later went for it on 4th-and-2 just past midfield, and the Vikings got another stop.

Big special teams play early

The Vikings relied on their special teams to make the first big play of the game. C.J. Ham blocked a punt, Theo Jackson recovered it and returned it to the 49ers’ 24-yard line. It set up the first points of the game on a Will Reichard field goal.

Key third quarter sequence

The Vikings played the tip drill off a Purdy pass in the third quarter. It was eventually intercepted by Josh Metellus. On the next play, Darnold hit a wide open Jalen Nailor for a 10-yard touchdown and a 20-7 Vikings lead.

Darnold finished 17-of-26 for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also engineered a fourth quarter drive that ended in a field goal with Nailor, Brandon Powell and Trishton Jackson as his receivers to give the Vikings a 23-14 lead with 3:30 to play. O'Connell got emotional talking about Darnold's day after the win.

"When everybody decides that you cannot play, we always believed in him," O'Connell said. "That is big-time quarterback play. All those folks out there that want some examples of it, I think we got two weeks of some pretty tangible examples from Sam Darnold."

Big day for the defense

Pat Jones II had two sacks and now has four on the season. Blake Cashman had a sack, 13 tackles, a tackle for loss and three pass deflections. Jihad Ward had a fumble recovery. Metellus had an interception. The Vikings had six sacks on the day, limited the 49ers to 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-3 on third down.