The spread for this game is Vikings -7 in most places, although you can find it at -6.5 at some books. The over/under varies between 39 and 40.

So far this season, the Brett Favre experiment has worked brilliantly for the Vikings. The grizzled old veteran quarterback has not been asked to do too much in leading Minnesota to its 2-0 start, but what he has done is be effective whenever he has been called on to throw the ball. And on most of the other plays run offensively, Favre has simply handed the ball to all-world running back Adrian Peterson who has picked up where he left off in 2008 and run for a total of 272 yards on 40 carries with a whopping four touchdowns. And Favre has completed a whopping 77 percent of his passes, mostly on short throws, for 265 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

Minnesota has combined that consistency on offense with a stout defense, but those two games were against the likes of the Browns and the Lions on the road and it perhaps faces its toughest test of the season so far with the also undefeated 49ers coming to town. Favre has typically struggled in domes during his career and as this is his first regular season home game as a member of the Vikings, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the different surroundings.

Also winning with the same sort of formula, San Francisco has thrived under head coach Mike Singletary as its combination of smashmouth offense and rugged defense has done wonders in defeating Super Bowl runner-up Arizona and fellow divisional foe Seattle. The 49ers have outscored their opponents 43-26 as quarterback Shaun Hill has far exceeded the expectations most people had for him entering his first full season as the starter. Helping him out offensively, in particular with his huge effort against the Seahawks, is running back Frank Gore who is coming off a plus-200 yard effort. Gore came up lame with a leg injury late in the contest, but he is expected to play against the Vikings after taking it easy in practice during the week.

This game will be won by whichever team can establish the run and win the turnover battle. Both sides have covered the spread in their first two games and have played some of the best football in the NFL, but the talent level of the opposition has been greater for San Francisco. But while the 49ers have had a road game and a home game, the Vikings have gotten job done twice in a row on the road. Although it was Cleveland and hapless Detroit, winning on the road is no easy task no matter who the opponent is.

San Francisco finished 3-5 on the road last season, while Minnesota was 6-3 at home including its loss in the playoffs. It goes without saying that the Viking fans will be raucous and not very receptive of making life easy for Hill and the Vikings. That could be worth three points alone. On the other hand, the 49ers have shown a resolve in their first two games and the type of mentality Singletary has been preaching about since the day he took over as head coach.

On the injury front, the 49ers are a banged up bunch but a lot of it appears to be just the typical bumps and bruises with nine probables and one questionable on the report. Minnesota has four players listed as probable including Peterson (back), while linebacker E.J. Henderson (shoulder) and wide receiver Percy Harvin (illness) are two valuable pieces listed as questionable.

Prediction: Minnesota 24, San Francisco 14

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