Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers 2020: Prediction, Line For NFC Divisional Playoff Game

The San Francisco 49ers had a historic defense in the first half of the 2019 NFL season. Then the injuries started and the unit took a step back, though the team found different ways to win and earn the No.1 seed in the conference.

The NFC West champs slowly got healthier toward the end of the year, and a first-round bye gave them an extra week of rest. With the best defense in the conference finally close to 100%, the Minnesota Vikings will probably be limited to one road upset in the 2020 NFL playoffs.

After beating the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome on Wild-Card Weekend, Minnesota is a seven-point underdog at Levi’s Stadium Saturday afternoon. The total for the divisional round game is 45, according to OddsShark.

The Vikings held Drew Brees and the Saints’ high-powered offense to 10 points through three quarters. Minnesota overcame New Orleans’ comeback when Kirk Cousins led the Vikings on a touchdown drive to start overtime. A 43-yard bomb to Adam Thielen was the catalyst for Minnesota’s victory.

Cousins answered a lot of questions in the win, outplaying one of the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks on a big stage away from home.

Saturday’s matchup presents the Vikings and their quarterback with a different set of challenges.

Cousins was sacked twice in the wild-card game with the Saints missing a couple of starting defensive linemen. Minnesota and San Francisco were tied for fifth in the regular season with 48 sacks.

49ers defensive end Dee Ford is expected to play in his first game since Nov. 17. Linebacker Kwon Alexander might return after suffering what appeared to be a season-ending injury in late October. Arik Armstead led the team with 10 sacks. Nick Bosa had nine sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss.

As good as he was in the extra session, Cousins was limited to 179 passing yards in regulation. The San Francisco defense ranked first in the regular season in passing yards per game (169.2) and yards per attempt (5.9). The 49ers held opponents to an 83.0 passer rating.

Minnesota’s offensive line struggled mightily in a few games, giving Cousins and the passing attack little chance. The quarterback was sacked six times in a 16-6 Week 4 loss in Chicago. The Green Bay Packers clinched the NFC North title in Week 16 when they recorded five sacks and beat the Vikings 23-10.

The Vikings’ defensive line was terrific in New Orleans with Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter leading the way. They aren’t likely to have the same kind of success in San Francisco.

The 49ers have the NFC’s No.1 rushing attack. The Vikings are 19th in the league, allowing 4.3 yards per rush.

Jimmy Garoppolo was inconsistent during the season, but he made big throws when San Francisco needed him to do so. The quarterback engineered late comebacks against the Saints and Los Angeles Rams in December. Garoppolo completed at least 70% of his passes in five of the team’s last seven games as the 49ers averaged 31.4 points per game.

Expect Garoppolo to find George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders for a handful of big plays against a Minnesota secondary that is the weakness of the Vikings’ defense.

San Francisco started the year 8-0, averaging 3.8 sacks per game and giving up 12.8 points per contest. The 49ers won six of those games by at least two possessions.

The No.1 seed has reached the NFC Championship Game in six of the last seven years. That trend should continue in 2020.

Prediction: San Francisco over Minnesota, 27-17