49ers at Vikings
Randy Moss makes his long-awaited return to the city where he starred for years on Sunday, now an afterthought on a San Francisco 49ers team looking to match its best start in 14 years by beating the Minnesota Vikings. Moss, a first-round pick by Minnesota in 1998 and a future Hall of Famer, is no longer the headliner. Instead, the story is San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith, a former No. 1 pick who, unlike Moss, needed a little time to realize his potential. Smith has gone a franchise-record 216 attempts without an interception, while the 49ers' stout defense has shut down two of the NFL’s most explosive offenses in consecutive weeks.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: 49ers -7, O/U 43
ABOUT THE 49ERS (2-0): San Francisco has looked like the most complete team in the league over the first two weeks. The 49ers held the high-scoring Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to a combined average of 310 yards to start the season. Smith continues to evolve. The seventh-year veteran is the second-highest rated quarterback in the league (115.9). He passed for 226 yards and a pair of scores to Vernon Davis in a 27-19 win over Detroit last week in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Smith is developing a rapport with fellow former first-round pick Michael Crabtree, who has yet to live up to his enormous hype. Crabtree, who hauled in career bests of 72 catches for 874 yards in 2011, has 13 catches for 143 yards over the first two games. Meanwhile, Frank Gore ranks fourth in the league with 201 yards and is averaging a whopping 6.1 yards.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS (1-1): The Vikings have played each of their first two contests down to the wire. Minnesota rallied from 13-point deficit before losing 23-20 to Indianapolis on a last-second field goal. That loss came on the heels of a 26-23 overtime win against Jacksonville. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder threw two touchdowns, including one to Kyle Rudolph that tied the game with 31 seconds left. Ponder finished 27-of-35 for 245 yards and now leads the league in completion percentage (75.8). The Vikings have to be thrilled with Ponder, but even happier with Adrian Peterson’s speedy recovery from two torn knee ligaments. Peterson has rushed for 144 yards and two scores and, more importantly, coach Leslie Frazier recently said he’s ready for a heavier workload. On the outside, Percy Harvin is tied for second in the league with 18 catches and leads the NFL with 387 all-purpose yards.
EXTRA POINTS
1. San Francisco, which led the league in turnover differential last season (plus-28), had a streak of 26 straight quarters without a giveaway end against the Lions when Kendall Hunter lost a fumble.
2. Moss, 35, has just five catches for 61 yards and a touchdown in two games. He compiled 574 receptions, 9,142 yards and 90 TDs in seven seasons with the Vikings before being traded to Oakland.
3. This is the first meeting since 2009, when Greg Lewis’ amazing catch in the back of the end zone helped Brett Favre and the Vikings prevail 27-24.