By: Joe Lami

The San Francisco 49ers kick-off their 2015 season on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.  The game officially marks the end of their nightmare of an offseason as they can finally go onto the field and compete. The 49ers do particularly well in their season openers, as they’ve won the past four.  If they win on Monday, it would be only the second time in franchise history they’ve won five straight season openers.

The 49ers went 2-2 during the pre-season, with both wins coming at home. In their last game, the 49ers beat up on the Chargers 14-12 but didn’t play much of their starters. However, 49ers fans go to see a few players that were able to crack the 53-man roster for San Francisco. Jarryd Hayne, Shayne Skov, and Mike Purcell were the feel-good stories of the pre-season. Their job is only half done, as the next step would be part of the 46 that get to suit up on game day.

49ers’ coach, Jim Tomsula, commented about the possibility of Hayne playing on Thursday, and said that it was still up in the air. There’s no doubt that Hayne brings a great presence to the 49ers’ special teams, but there’s a lot more of Hayne’s game that needs to be worked on.

A lot of pressure will fall on Tomsula, as it will be his first NFL game as a head coach. Though talk around the 49ers hasn’t been great with the losses to their roster, Tomsula has remained optimistic and said the Niners have a great room.

On the other side of the ball, the Minnesota Vikings, come into the opener after playing the rare five pre-season games as they participated in the Hall of Fame game. They went 4-1 during their pre-season with their lone loss coming to the Titans last time out.

The main matchup to watch on Monday night will be how Adrian Peterson do after not playing in the last 15 games of the season last year due to his off the field problems.  Will he come back to his old self or will the year-long absence affect his game? In his last two full seasons, Peterson has rushed for over 3,300 yards and 22 touchdowns.  He will be face-off against 49ers’ star linebacker, NaVarro Bowman. Bowman is also playing in his first game in a long time, as he missed all of last season due to a leg injury during the 2013 NFC Championship game.

Monday will also give everyone a look to the “new” Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick didn’t play all that much during pre-season, and his numbers were not impressive, although he wasn’t given a chance to throw the ball that much. Kaepernick worked with Kurt Warner during the off-season on his throwing motion, and it will be on full display Monday, as it has been hidden during the pre-season.

The question remains, will the 49ers’ offensive line hold up to give Kaep the time he needs?

We will find out all of the answers on Monday, the first Monday game to be held at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers have announced they will be debuting their new black alternate jerseys for the 7:15 kickoff.