Vikings and 49ers square off this Sunday

Published: Sep 22, 2009 at 11:56 AM

Last meeting
Adrian Peterson had the worst game of his career (14 carries, 3 yards) against the 49ers but San Francisco was unable to corral backup Chester Taylor, who led the Vikings with 101 rushing yards on eight attempts in Minnesota's 27-7 win in Week 14 of the 2007 season.

Streaks
The Vikings have won three of the past four regular-season meetings, but due to San Francisco's postseason dominance over Minnesota (4-1), the 49ers have a narrow 22-20-1 overall series edge.

Last week
For the second straight week, the Vikings found themselves down at halftime before waking up in the third quarter, this time defeating the Lions, 27-13. ... San Francisco took early command of the NFC West with a 23-10 victory over Seattle.

Keep your eye on ...
Brett Favre's arm strength: At some point, Minnesota will need Favre to make some deep throws. In the first two weeks, the Vikings were able to get by with Favre dinking and dunking his way down the field as Peterson carried the load. That may not be possible against a 49ers defense that shut down Peterson in their only previous meeting.

Mike Singletary's leadership: It was not that long ago (2007) that San Francisco started 2-0 and got fans excited. The Niners' fast start quickly evaporated that year, however, as the team finished 5-11. Things might be different this season with Singletary in charge (he was the linebackers coach then). As Vic Carucci notes, the entire organization has taken on Singletary's fiery personality since he took over midway through last season.

Minnesota's pass rush: The Vikings have long been a run-stuffing defense and that is no different this year as they have yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season. If Minnesota can stop Niners RB Frank Gore that could force QB Shaun Hill to win the game. Hill has been solid this year, but he has yet to face a pass rush as good as the Vikings', which ranks third in the NFL with seven sacks.

Did you know?
Hill began his career with Minnesota, but did not take a snap in four years with the Vikings. ... Gore has 5,421 yards from scrimmage since 2006 -- the second-most in the NFC over that span. ... Favre has won 11 of his 13 starts against the 49ers. ... Vikings rookie Percy Harvin has a touchdown in two straight games.

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