MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Randy Moss and Gus Frerotte were all smiles. It was hardly a laughing matter for Terrell Owens or the maligned secondary of the San Francisco 49ers.
Moss recorded his fifth career three-touchdown game and caught eight passes for 172 yards to lead the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings to a 35-7 rout of the 49ers.
Frerotte started for an injured Daunte Culpepper and thoroughly enjoyed lofting passes to Moss, who used his 6-4 size and vertical leap to shield San Francisco's overmatched defensive backs.
"When you got a guy who's 6-5, his arms reach to about 11 feet, you just give him a chance to make plays," Frerotte said.
Moss caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone over cornerback Ahmed Plummer in the first quarter, a 35-yard scoring pass in the left corner over safety Zack Bronson in the second quarter and a 59-yard bomb over the middle in the fourth quarter for his third touchdown of the day.
"I always want the opportunity to make plays and I was glad to have some chances today," Moss said. "Give Gus a lot of credit. He was aggressive from the start and we kept attacking on offense."
Frerotte threw for four touchdowns overall, connecting with rookie Nate Burleson on a 22-yard scoring play with 56 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Vikings (4-0) a 28-0 halftime lead.
A 10-year veteran, Frerotte was virtually flawless, completing 16-of-21 passes for 267 yards. His single game rating of 157.2 is the highest in Vikings history, surpassing Warren Moon's mark of 152.9 against New Orleans on November 19, 1995.
"I thought that Gus Frerotte came in and did exactly what we brought him in to do," said Vikings coach Mike Tice. "We knew if something happened to Daunte at some point in the season, he could come in and manage the offense without us having to take things out, except for the quarterback draws."
The win was the seventh in a row for Minnesota, dating to last season. The 4-0 record is a complete reversal from the Vikings' 0-4 start of last season.
While Moss and Frerotte excelled, Owens and Niners quarterback Jeff Garcia struggled against Minnesota's improved defense. Owens had just one catch for 10 yards in the first half and finished with five receptions for 55 yards.
Moss, Owens and Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts are regarded as the NFL's premier receivers, but Moss certainly outclassed Owens on Sunday.
While Moss exhorted his teammates and celebrated with the fans, Owens berated Niners offensive coordinator Greg Knapp on the sidelines.
"It's a bad situation, it's not working for us," Owens said. "I'm out there beating guys and what else can I do? All of America can see what's going on."
When asked if he was upset with the playcalling by Knapp, Owens responded "It's all of the above. I feel I've established myself around here. Everybody wants to look at me and say I'm selfish because I'm yelling."
Garcia was replaced by Tim Rattay in the fourth quarter after completing just 11-of-23 passes for 108 yards.
The Niners (1-3) were in danger of having their streak of scoring in 405 straight games snapped before Rattay connected with Tai Streets on a 37-yard touchdown with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter.
Afterwards, Owens even hinted that maybe Rattay should be given a chance to start.
"That's not my decision to make, but Rat (Rattay) came in and did a good job when he was in there," Owens said.
San Francisco was last shut out on October 9, 1977 by Atlanta.
The loss was the third straight for the Niners following a season-opening win over Chicago.
The Vikings scored on four of their five first-half possessions as Frerotte completed 13-of-16 passes for 188 yards. Garcia threw for just 44 yards in the half with two interceptions.
"They did whatever they wanted," said Niners coach Dennis Erickson.
Minnesota started the game with a nine-play, 72-yard drive. Frerotte completed 4-of-4 for 57 yards, including a 22-yard pass to Moss and a 17-yard pass to tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Moss was isolated on Plummer when he used his four-inch height advantage to make a leaping catch in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown 5:07 into the game.
"He (Moss) made a lot of plays, you have to give credit to him," Plummer said. It's one of those things where when you have a bad day, you have a bad day. They were able to take advantage of that."
Safety Corey Chavous set a career-high with his fourth interception of the season, setting up Minnesota's second touchdown. He returned it 38 yards to the San Francisco 38 and the Vikings needed eight running plays to reach the end zone. Rookie Onterrio Smith capped the drive with his first career touchdown -a five-yard run up the middle with 3:20 left in the quarter.
"If you can establish the running game, it opens other things up," said Vikings right tackle Mike Rosenthal.
Minnesota's third scoring drive was its longest - 88 yards in nine plays. Moss caught a 15-yard pass on the drive and capped it with another leaping catch in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown with 4:39 remaining in the second quarter. Bronson was next to Moss in the end zone when Frerotte lofted the pass, but could not compensate for Moss' three-inch height advantage.
"We were there in coverage," Erickson said. "He (Moss) just went up and took it away from us."
Cornerback Brian Williams intercepted a pass by Garcia and returned it seven yards to the Minnesota 44 to set up the fourth scoring drive which resulted in the touchdown pass from Frerotte to Burleson.
Frerotte punctuated the day with a 59-yard touchdown over the middle to Moss on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Niners marched 70 yards to the Minnesota 4 in the third quarter, but turned the ball over on downs after Garcia threw three straight incompletions.
Later in the quarter, the Niners reached the Minnesota 31, but Kevan Barlow was stuffed for a one-yard loss on a 4th-and-goal play.
