In 17-7 loss to 49ers, Sean Mannion outduels Kellen Mond in Vikings’ battle for backup QB

If the preseason is a best-of-three series in the battle to become the Vikings’ backup quarterback, the score is now tied 1-1.

Kellen Mond had a better outing than Sean Mannion in last Sunday’s exhibition opener, a loss at Las Vegas. In Game 2, Saturday night’s 17-7 loss to San Francisco at U.S. Bank Stadium, Mannion was hardly great but he was better than a shaky Mond.

So perhaps the competition will be decided in next Saturday’s preseason finale at Denver.

Against the 49ers, the Vikings announced before the game that they would sit out 27 players, including quarterback Kirk Cousins and all but one starter. So most of the drama surrounded Mond and Mannion, who are listed as co-backups on the depth chart.

With Cousins out against the Raiders after testing positive for COVID-19, Mannion got the start in the 26-20 loss but shared time with Mond. On Saturday, Mond, entering his second season, got his first NFL preseason start and split time with Mannion, who is entering his eighth season.

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Mond was hot in the second half against the Raiders, but he cooled considerably on Saturday. Playing in the first and third quarters and in the final minutes, he completed 10 of  20 passes for 82 yards and threw two ugly interceptions. His passer rating was 21.2.

Mannion, who played the entire second quarter and most of the fourth, completed 10 of 15 passes for 65 yards and had a passer rating of 75.7. Mannion threw mostly low-risk passes, but he was 4 of 4 on a drive late in the second quarter that led to a 3-yard touchdown run by rookie Ty Chandler.

Both of Mond’s interceptions came on poor throws. On the opening drive, he misfired badly on a throw down the left sideline to Bisi Johnson, and it was picked off by 49ers safety George Odum, who returned it 34 yards to the Minnesota 48. Late in the game, Mond threw a bad pass right into the hands of safety Tayler Hawkins.

Mond didn’t seem to play with the same confidence he showed against the Raiders, when he completed 9 of 14 passes for 119 yards with an impressive passer rating of 130.7. He held onto the ball too long at times, including late in the first quarter when he was sacked for a 11-yard loss by Javon Kinlaw, back to the Vikings’ 5-yard line.

Overall in the preseason, Mond has completed 19 of 34 passes for 201 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Mannion, who completed 8 of 12 passes for 79 yards at Las Vegas, has completed 18 of 27 passes for 134 yards in his two preseason games.

Mond was helped in the preseason opener by a strong running game, but the Vikings were less effective on the ground Saturday. Their leading rusher was Ty Chandler, who carried five times for 19 yards and gave the Vikings a 7-3 lead with his touchdown run.

The Vikings led 7-6 at halftime, but the 49ers controlled the second half. They took the lead for good on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Nate Sudfeld to JaMycal Hasty on the first play of the fourth quarter. Robbie Gould then wrapped up the scoring with his third field goal of the game, a 28-yarder, with 4:09 left for a 17-7 lead.

The 49ers also rested a number of starters, including second-year quarterback Trey Lance, a native of Marshall, Minn.

Of 27 Vikings players ruled out before the game, the only position player not listed who is first on the depth chart was defensive end Armon Watts, who started.

Rookie guard Ed Ingram started at right guard over a rested Jesse Davis, who is listed as first on the depth chart. But Ingram, a second-round draft pick, worked with the first team in joint practices against the 49ers on Wednesday and Thursday and could end up beating Davis out.

Rookie safety Lewis Cine, taken with the No. 32 pick in the first round of this year’s draft, started at safety with both Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum sitting out. Cine is battling Bynum for a starting job but Bynum not playing Saturday is another indication he has a firm hold on that spot.

Cornerback Cameron Dantzler, who also sat out Saturday’s game, also has a firm hold on a starting job over rookie Andrew Booth Jr., a second-round draft pick. Booth started but was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

Chris joined the Pioneer Press in 2013 to cover the Vikings. He was a longtime NBA writer with the Akron Beacon Journal, Rocky Mountain News and AOL FanHouse. Before coming to Minnesota, he covered the Miami Heat and Dolphins for Fox Sports. Since joining the Pioneer Press, Chris has won 10 awards in Pro Football Writers of America contests and in both 2021 and 2022 was named a national top-10 beat writer by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE). Chris is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he spent his college years watching the losingest team in the history of Division I-A football.