Kellen Mond Throws 2 INTs, Vikings' Offense Sputters in 17-7 Preseason Loss to 49ers
The thing about preseason football is that it isn't often pretty.
The Vikings' 17-7 loss to the 49ers on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium was far from aesthetically pleasing, even by August standards. There was a fumbled handoff exchange on a goal line play. There was an interception where it looked like the defensive back was the intended receiver. There was a fumble on a punt return. There were all kinds of drops, missed tackles, penalties, and punts.
That'll happen when both teams rule out 25-plus players, including virtually all of their starters, before the game.
The end result is, of course, meaningless. This was about evaluating the second, third, and fourth-string players as they compete for roles and roster spots. But the product put on display made viewers long for the quality and excitement of regular season football, which is just three weeks away.
Vikings backup quarterbacks Sean Mannion and Kellen Mond struggled to get much going all night, reigniting concern about the team's options to back up Kirk Cousins. Mannion was the better of the two, finishing 10 of 15 for 65 yards with no turnovers, but it wasn't a high bar to clear. Mond, who had a strong finish to last weekend's preseason opener in Las Vegas, went 10 for 20 for 82 yards and threw two interceptions.
As a whole, the Vikings' offense finished with 195 yards on 50 plays. They went 2 for 11 on third down and punted seven times, which at least gave their special teams coaches a lot of chances to evaluate the punting battle between Jordan Berry and undrafted rookie Ryan Wright.
The Vikings took a 7-3 lead late in the first half on a short touchdown run by rookie Ty Chandler, one of the stars of the game in Vegas. Mannion went 4 for 4 on the drive. But the 49ers, behind three Robbie Gould field goals and a short Nate Sudfeld touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, took the lead back and held on. The Vikings' loss was sealed when Mond took a shot to the end zone late in the fourth quarter and threw his second pick of the day.
It's the Vikings' fifth consecutive preseason loss, dating back to their 0-3 performance last year.
There were a few standout individual performances by Vikings players in the loss. No one has done more to help their roster chances through two preseason games than journeyman defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. After recording two sacks against the Raiders, he added another 1.5 sacks in this game, along with several pressures and five total tackles.
Rookies Akayleb Evans and Brian Asamoah had some impressive moments in the first half. Evans recorded a tackle for loss on fourth down to get the Vikings the ball back, and Asamoah flew around the field to record a run stop and force an incompletion. Edge rusher D.J. Wonnum had a nice pressure on a spin move.
Unfortunately, there were more discouraging performances than strong ones. Mond was unable to carry over the momentum from his good finish to last week's game, throwing two picks. Tight end Zach Davidson dropped multiple passes, including one that could've gone for a huge gain. Ihmir Smith-Marsette fumbled a punt return.
In other bad news, rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. left the game with an ankle injury in the first half and did not return.
The Vikings will wrap up their three-game preseason slate next week in Denver against the Broncos. After that, the roster will go down to 53 players and preparation for the September 11 regular season opener against the Packers will go into full swing.
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