Minnesota Vikings: 3 X-factors to beating 49ers in Divisional Round
Before the Minnesota Vikings take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, here are three x-factors that will be present for the Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings will look to grab their second straight upset win in the postseason when they take on the top team in the NFC during the Divisional Round this weekend. The No. 6-seeded Vikings continue on in the 2020 NFL Playoffs when they travel to take on a tough San Francisco 49ers squad, the top-seeded team in the NFC, at Levi’s Stadium.
Minnesota comes into the contest while being viewed as a team making an underdog run thus far in postseason action around the league, coming off of a thrilling overtime victory over the No. 3 New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round last weekend in New Orleans.
The Vikings will look to steal yet another game on the road this weekend with the hopes of continuing to advance towards a Super Bowl appearance, with the winner of their contest against the 49ers moving on to the NFC Championship Game to take on the winner of the other NFC Divisional Round game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers for a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The Vikings enter the Divisional Round contest riding high from their upset victory over the Saints last Sunday afternoon, a game where Minnesota came out on top 26-22 thanks to an early touchdown in overtime from Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph that sealed the win.
In that game, the Vikings jumped out ahead of the Saints early on the road, with New Orleans responding in the second half and evening things up to force overtime at the Superdome. In overtime, Cousins was able to find his tight end in Rudolph in the end zone on the opening drive to steal the playoff contest in upset fashion.
Following that back-and-forth win, Minnesota shifts its focus to a San Francisco team that is rested up following its first-round bye. The 49ers finished up the regular season schedule this year by tallying an overall record of 13-3, claiming the NFC West title over the Seahawks to get the top seed in the conference for the postseason.
The game will be the first meeting between the Vikings and 49ers this year, with the last matchup between Minnesota and San Francisco occurring in the season-opening game of the 2018 regular season schedule in Minneapolis.
With the NFC Divisional Round inching closer, let’s take a dive into three x-factors that will pop up during the playoff showdown for the Vikings as they travel to take on the 49ers on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.