Minnesota Vikings: 3 X-factors to beating 49ers in Divisional Round

1. Vikings defense

For really the last handful of seasons, Minnesota’s defense has been one of the top defensive units throughout the NFL while shutting down opposing offenses throughout the course of the year.

While some have viewed this Vikings defense as taking somewhat of a step back during the 2019 campaign, they returned to form to kick off the playoffs and played a huge role in the Vikings being able to advance to the NFC Divisional Round this weekend.

In Minnesota’s upset win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round last weekend, the Vikings defense was a force all game long while holding one of the top offensive units in the league in check with holding them to just 20 points in the contest.

In the victory, Minnesota’s forced New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees into throwing one interception, while also forcing him to fumble the ball once in the game as well. The veteran quarterback finished the game completing 26 of his overall 33 pass attempts, although he threw for just 208 yards.

Overall, the Vikings held the Saints to a total of 227 passing yards and 97 total rushing yards, while coming up with some key turnovers that changed the momentum and flow of the game in a tough road environment.

This weekend at Levi’s Stadium against San Francisco, the Minnesota defense needs to step up and perform well once again against a tough squad in the 49ers. If the Vikings are able to mirror what they accomplished on defense in the first round of the postseason once again on Saturday evening, they will put themselves in a good position to keep their season alive in the 2020 NFL Playoffs.