Williamson deactivated for fourth time this year

SAN FRANCISCO - The Vikings deactivated receiver Troy Williamson on Sunday for the second consecutive game and the fourth time this season, raising the question of whether the team is slowly moving on after three largely unproductive seasons from the former first-round draft pick.

Officially, Williamson was held out because of lingering headaches from a concussion suffered Nov. 25 against the New York Giants. But Williamson said he could have played Sunday in the Vikings' 27-7 victory over San Francisco.

Williamson said he felt postconcussion symptoms "a little bit" last week but characterized the pain as "two out of 10."

He added: "I feel like I was ready to go, but it's better to take the safe route."

While Williamson has recovered, rookie Aundrae Allison seems to have claimed the lead kickoff returner's job. Sidney Rice, Robert Ferguson and Bobby Wade all appear to be ahead of Williamson on a depth chart that usually provides only four active receivers for each game.

Barring injuries elsewhere, Williamson appears to be in competition with Allison for the final receiver spot on the game-day roster for the remainder of the season.

Rookie defensive tackle Conrad Bolston made his NFL debut in style, forcing a fumble by 49ers running back Frank Gore.

Bolston was making a bid to remain on the active roster upon the return of defensive tackle Fred Evans, whose two-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy ends today.

Bolston, who spent the first 10 weeks of the season on the practice squad, had one tackle.

Antoine Winfield returned after missing four of the past five games because of a hamstring injury and had six tackles.

"I missed playing with the guys, being on the field with them," the veteran cornerback said. "I got out there trying to make things happen and help this team win."

Winfield was confident he wouldn't have any problem with the hamstring because he was able to cut loose last week in practice. He also decided to make a fashion statement by putting white tape on his shoes. The team wears black shoes, and Winfield admitted he expects to be fined by the NFL under its policy that calls for players to have a uniform look.

"It was just for show," Winfield said. "Just 'cause it looked nice. If you look good you play good."

With Winfield back and Charles Gordon having settled into the nickel role, rookie Marcus McCauley went from starter to special teams player only on Sunday.

The NFL and NBC have until Tuesday under the league's flexible schedule policy to decide what game to air as the prime-time matchup Dec. 23.

The schedule calls for Tampa Bay-San Francisco to be played that night, but the NFL and NBC could move either the Washington-Vikings matchup at the Metrodome or the Giants at Buffalo to the 7:15 p.m. slot. Redskins-Vikings is currently scheduled to kick off at noon.

Gordon admitted he was worried about the health of 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer after the two collided on a fourth-down play late in the first half. Dilfer's head appeared to hit Gordon's shoulder pad, causing the veteran quarterback to crumple to the turf.

"I was real concerned," Gordon said. "At first I felt really excited [because Dilfer did not get the first down]. But when you see him down for so long, you get to thinking, 'Hopefully, he's all right. He'll get up and be fine.' I was glad to see him able to walk off the field."

Vikings coach Brad Childress said he thought the hit was clean, and replays backed that up.

Gordon also left the game briefly in the third quarter because of a thigh injury but was able to return and said he was fine.

Dilfer suffered a concussion.

J.T. O'Sullivan spent time with the Vikings as a backup quarterback. He had never thrown a pass in an NFL regular-season game when he took over as Detroit's quarterback when Jon Kitna was hurt against the Vikings on Sept. 16.

O'Sullivan finished 13-for-23 for 148 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a 54.3 quarterback rating. Kitna returned and led the Lions to an overtime field goal and a 20-17 victory.

On Sunday, Shaun Hill -- a quarterback who spent four years on the Vikings' practice squad or as a backup -- entered and threw the first passes of his NFL career for San Francisco. Vikings tight end Jeff Dugan was Hill's roommate in Minnesota for two seasons. "Shaun's a great guy," Dugan said. "It was nice to see him get a chance."

Veteran receiver Robert Ferguson scored his first touchdown for the Vikings on a 19-yard pass from Tarvaris Jackson. Ferguson was open on the right side, took the pass and then made two 49ers -- linebacker Derek Smith and safety Michael Lewis -- miss to get into the end zone.

"That was big, to get my first one in purple," Ferguson said. "Tarvaris had another solid game, finding the open receivers and giving us a chance to make plays."

Cornerback Nate Clements left Buffalo and signed a large free-agent contract with the 49ers. The thinking in San Francisco is that Clements is having an excellent season, even as the 49ers have bombed at 3-10.

On Sunday, Clements had six solo tackles and was involved in smothering rookie Adrian Peterson with 3 yards on 14 carries.

"There are no moral victories in stopping Adrian Peterson," Clements said. "We had a game plan all week to stop their run. We were able to stop one guy, but [Chester] Taylor was able to move the ball on us."

Linebacker Patrick Willis, a strong candidate to be selected as the NFL's top defensive rookie, also claimed no triumph in stifling Peterson.

"This is not a one-on-one battle; this is the ultimate team sport," Willis said. "It is about the defense as a unit stopping their offense. We did a good job on Peterson, but we did that as a unit. We didn't do well enough stopping the rest of their offense."

• In addition to Williamson, the Vikings also deactivated safeties Mike Doss and Tank Williams, fullback Naufahu Tahi, tight end Garrett Mills, linebacker David Herron and guard Artis Hicks. Kelly Holcomb was the third quarterback. Hicks' back injury put rookie offensive lineman Chase Johnson in uniform for the first time this season.

• Defensive tackle Kevin Williams' interception return for a touchdown only 14 seconds into Sunday's game was the second-fastest touchdown in Vikings history to start a game. The fastest came 13 seconds into a game against New Orleans on Sept. 25, 2005, when quarterback Daunte Culpepper hit Travis Taylor on a 24-yard touchdown pass.

• Williams broke Chris Doleman's franchise mark for a Vikings defensive lineman with his fourth career interception. Williams also has four career takeaway touchdowns (two interceptions, two fumble recoveries). That is the most career touchdowns by a Vikings defensive lineman and equals a mark held by six other players.

• The Vikings tied a team record with their sixth interception return for a TD. They had six in 1992.

• Mewelde Moore was used on the majority of punt returns Sunday, but Bobby Wade also got one return in the game. Wade began the season as the primary punt returner. Wade returned one punt for 6 yards; Moore did not get a return.

KEVIN SEIFERT, JUDD ZULGAD AND PATRICK REUSSE