Early in their big Week 2 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings got a big play from one of the team's most beloved players, fullback C.J. Ham.
The 49ers lined up to punt after coming up short on their second offensive drive of the game in the middle of the first quarter. San Francisco punter Mitch Wishnowsky received the snap on 4th-and-5, and instead of booming it to the other side of the field, Ham came up with a huge special teams play for the Vikings.
BIG punt block for the @Vikings!
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
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Minnesota Vikings take early lead over San Francisco 49ers thanks to C.J. Ham
After Ham was able to get through all of San Francisco's linemen to block the punt, Minnesota safety Theo Jackson picked up the football and returned it for a 37-yard gain.
Following the tremendous work by Ham and Jackson, the Vikings got on the scoreboard five plays later when rookie kicker Will Reichard converted his first field-goal attempt of the 2024 season from 22 yards away.
The field-goal try was a little shocking since Minnesota could have also attempted to get the ball inside the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the four-yard line. But Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell clearly didn't want to miss a chance to get points against a tough 49ers defense, and Minnesota took a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter on Sunday.
It's been quite a while since Vikings fans were able to see their favorite team come up with a blocked punt. According to the team, Sunday's big play was the first time Minnesota has blocked and recovered a punt since their win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 of the 2019 season.