San Fran routs Vikes to make title game
The 49ers didn’t even need their franchise quarterback to beat the Vikings by two scores in the Divisional Round on Saturday. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for just 131 yards, a touchdown and an interception in San Francisco’s 27-10 win that punched their ticket to the NFC championship game.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan just asked Garoppolo to hand the ball off and make short, quick passes. He had a bad interception to Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks and almost threw another interception directly into Kendricks’ hands, but ultimately it ended up not mattering.
San Francisco turned Minnesota into a shell of themselves, holding the Vikings’ offense to 147 total yards and 3.3 yards per play. It was thorough old-fashioned ass-kicking. The Vikings had no answer for the 49ers’ physical defensive line, allowing six sacks and nine quarterback hits. It was such an efficient bludgeoning that the game finished in under three hours of real time. Run game and defense won the game for San Francisco.
“We knew we were facing probably the best back we’ve faced all year with Dalvin [Cook],” Nick Bosa said. “We took the run as serious as we could, shut it down and then we ate.”
Simply put, this game looked like the sixth seed in the conference taking on the top seed. The Vikings were more talented than typical six seeds that squeeze their way into the playoffs, but the grind of having to play on the road in back-to-back weeks showed up in the second half.
Before they picked up some garbage time yards with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Vikings had just four first downs and less than 100 yards of offense. They got their heads caved in by a fresher, more talented team.
An interception by Richard Sherman and a muffed punt by Vikings return man Marcus Sherels set the 49ers up with great field position; those turnovers ultimately became 10 secondhalf points.
49ers running back Tevin Coleman had his best game of the season since his four-touchdown game against the Panthers. Coleman had 105 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and Kyle Shanahan leaned on him in the second half as they closed out the clock.
Now, San Francisco plays the waiting game. They’ll be hosting either the Packers or the Seahawks next week in the NFC championship game, two teams they played earlier this year. They split their season series against Seattle and beat the hell out of the Packers, 37-8, in Week 12.