49ers ready to roll again

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers picked up right where they left off last season.

So much for an NFC title game hangover.

Smith tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brett Swain on the opening possession, backup Colin Kaepernick ran 78 yards for a score on the next and the 49ers breezed past the Minnesota Vikings 17-6 Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

“I thought they were on top of their business,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said.

Sure looked like it all the way around.

Brandon Jacobs, Kendall Hunter and Rock Cartwright combined for 69 yards rushing on the first drive to lead a reloaded running back group for San Francisco (No. 4 in the AP Pro32 rankings) on a night three-time Pro Bowler Frank Gore rested. Smith finished 3 for 3 passing for 16 yards.

San Francisco had 260 yards rushing to Minnesota’s 82 yards.

“We ran the ball really well that opening drive and all game,” Smith said. “Anytime you can do that it just makes our jobs a lot easier.”

The only real shortcoming for the Vikings’ regulars came on the scoreboard.

Christian Ponder completed 4 of 9 passes for 80 yards, and Toby Gerhart ran for 31 yards for Minnesota (No. 29) in place of rehabbing starter Adrian Peterson.

The Vikings offense showed promise, moving the ball with ease until settling for field goals of 39 and 26 yards by new kicker Blair Walsh in Candlestick Park’s whipping winds.

“We would have liked to have come out with touchdowns rather than two field goals,” Ponder said. “But it was a pretty good start. There were a lot of positives. We moved the ball well against a really good defense.”

Randy Moss made his 49ers debut after sitting out last season, though it was hard to notice. The 35-year-old wide receiver, who signed a one-year deal with San Francisco, played sparingly and was never targeted.

In the first game at Candlestick since the overtime loss in the NFC championship to the New York Giants on Jan. 22, the new-look 49ers started strong.

Jacobs, who signed a one-year deal with San Francisco after winning his second Super Bowl with New York, showed his strength in short-yardage situations — a missing element for the 49ers last season — by running for 3 yards on fourth-and-1 from San Francisco’s 47 to extend the opening drive. He added a 23-yard sprint and finished with 31 yards on the ground. All four of his rushes led to a San Francisco first down.