Shortly after the Minnesota Vikings revealed that wide receiver Jordan Addison is out for Week 2 with an ankle injury, the San Francisco 49ers shared even bigger news when they announced that All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey won't be playing on Sunday inside U.S. Bank Stadium due to his current calf/Achilles injury.
McCaffrey being out for this weekend's matchup against the 49ers is huge for the Vikings' chances of pulling out a win in their first home game of the 2024 campaign. Both teams will be looking to improve their record to 2-0 on Sunday after getting victories in their respective regular-season openers last week.
While the news about Addison missing the game likely increased the pessimism within the Minnesota fan base about Sunday's game, the optimism definitely picked back up after San Francisco revealed that it won't have its top running back on the field this week.
San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey out for Week 2 against Minnesota Vikings
Coming off an MVP-caliber season in 2023, McCaffrey has yet to suit up for the 49ers this year. San Francisco's All-Pro running back also missed the team's Week 1 game this past Monday against the New York Jets, but the 49ers still found a way to get a win without him.
In fact, McCaffrey's replacement in San Francisco's starting lineup, Jordan Mason, wound up rushing for 147 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries in the team's victory over the Jets.
So, even if the 49ers don't have their top running back on the field this Sunday, the Vikings should still make sure that containing Mason is a priority. Luckily, since McCaffrey didn't play in Week 1, Minnesota has probably spent the last few days coming up with plans to stop both San Francisco running backs this weekend.
When these two squads faced off last season, the Vikings held the 49ers to just 65 yards on the ground. This ended up putting more pressure on San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy to come up with plays, and instead, he wound up tossing a pair of interceptions to Minnesota's defense.
The Vikings will likely look to execute a similar strategy on Sunday and hope that it produces the same result as last season's matchup inside U.S. Bank Stadium against the 49ers.