The 49ers on Saturday cruised to a 27-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
It took them awhile to really get rolling, but they dominated the final 30 minutes and rolled on to the NFC championship. Here are our notes and observations from throughout Saturday’s game:
– Kwon Alexander started alongside Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. The Vikings immediately ran to his side for a gain of 3. DeForest Buckner came up with two stops crashing down the line to open the game.
– Third-and-8 for the Vikings and Kirk Cousins’ first pass sails out of bounds. He had time to throw, but the 49ers did a nice job on the back end in coverage.
– Matt Breida started at running back for the 49ers. Tevin Coleman checked in the next snap.
– What a catch by Deebo Samuel on second-and-8. Jimmy Garoppolo threw it behind the rookie receiver, but Samuel reached back to make the catch in tight coverage for a gain of 10.
– Whew. A DIME from Garoppolo to Emmanuel Sanders for 22 yards after George Kittle dropped a first-down throw. It was a deep out like the one Garoppolo and Sanders connected on in Arizona. Perfectly timed, and Garoppolo dropped it in the bucket.
– The 49ers are inside the 5 thanks to Kittle. San Francisco ran Deebo Samuel in motion and faked a swing pass to him in the flat. That opened the middle for the tight end.
– Touchdown, 49ers. Garoppolo finds Kendrick Bourne in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score and the 49ers are up 7-0. Eight plays, 61 yards. Easy work for the 49ers offense on their first series. Garoppolo was five-of-six for 57 yards and a touchdown.
– Ahkello Witherspoon got beat for a 41-yard touchdown on the Vikings’ ensuing drive. Witherspoon got his head around, but overran the throw, and Stefon Diggs got back inside for the catch and then walked into the end zone to tie the game. San Francisco couldn’t get off the field on third down multiple times on that drive.
– Raheem Mostert entered the game and went for gains of six and four yards on his first two carries. He’s such a tough runner.
– Two more Mostert carries. 12 more yards. Another first down.
– Wow. Third-and-10, and Garoppolo finds a diving Bourne for 16 yards. Garoppolo got hit as he threw and his pass fluttered outside the numbers. It was a potentially disastrous play that turned into a first down for the 49ers.
– Danielle Hunter got the first sack of the game when he beat Mike McGlinchey and took down Garoppolo for a loss of 9 to put the 49ers in a second-and-19. McGlinchey also false started after an incomplete second-and-19 throw to put the 49ers in third-and-24. Garoppolo got pressured bad and scrambled out of bounds for a sack.
– The first quarter ends with a 7-7 tie and Minnesota holding all the momentum. San Francisco’s defense badly needs a stop on their next series.
– Emmanuel Moseley is in the game at cornerback for Witherspoon after Witherspoon allowed a touchdown on the Vikings’ opening series.
– A huge play by Arik Armstead off the edge to come up with the 49ers’ first sack of the game. It was a loss of eight that put the Vikings inside their own 5. Armstead plowed through the right tackle and right guard to hit Cousins before the quarterback could react.
– Nice series from the 49ers’ defense. A couple short runs and the Armstead sack brought up a fourth-and-12 and a Vikings punt. Richie James found some room on the return for 18 yards to start San Francisco at their own 47.
– There’s Deebo. On a third-and-12, the rookie caught a high throw right at the sticks, then fought hard to pick up two extra yards and a first down. He took a reverse for a gain of 6 on the next play. It was a fun design where Garoppolo handed to Kyle Juszczyk, who then flipped it to Samuel who ran around the left side with Garoppolo as his lead blocker. Garoppolo flattened linebacker Anthony Barr, somehow. Samuel fumbled, but review showed he was down before the ball came out.
– Samuel had another nice catch and run to get the 49ers to the 1-yard line. Tevin Coleman plowed in for a touchdown two plays later to put the 49ers back in front. Coleman is having a nice game after struggling late in the year. That was a 10-play, 53-yard drive to put San Francisco ahead 14-7.
– A quick three-and-out for the 49ers defense gives the offense the ball back with 4:45 left in the first half. Nick Bosa had a huge hit on running back Dalvin Cook on that series, and then Minnesota’s next two plays went nowhere. They started with good field position too after a nice return by Ameer Abdullah.
– Yikes. Terrible throw from Garoppolo who never saw Eric Kendricks underneath a route by Samuel. Kendricks plucked the throw out of the air and put his offense at the 49ers’ 29 with just over two minutes left in the first half. That was the type of throw Garoppolo mostly avoided in the second half of the season.
– Welcome back, Dee Ford. He came up with a sack in his first game since Week 14. This one comes on a third-and-11 for a loss of four with 36 seconds left in the half. It set up a 39-yard field goal that made it 14-10 with 31 second left in the first half. Not the worst possible outcome for San Francisco after the pick.
– The 49ers got some help with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Vikings’ opening kickoff. That put them at their own 37 to start the series.
– Wow. Third-and-10 on the 49ers’ first drive of the second half goes for 21 yards on a Garoppolo throw to Bourne. He had to climb the ladder for Garoppolo’s high throw, but came down with a nice catch.
– On a third-and-2, Garoppolo had fullback Kyle Juszczyk wide open in the middle of the end zone, but didn’t see him. Instead, he threw it away to set up a 35-yard field goal that gave the 49ers a 17-10 lead. It was a heavy dose of the run game on that series. Garoppolo threw three passes compared to six runs. The fact the 49ers had success on the ground could influence their game plan moving forward.
– Wow. Nick Bosa is everywhere. He whacked Cook for a short gain on first down, then dove for a pass breakup on a throw intended for the running back on second down.
– Richard Sherman comes up with a huge interception on third-and-9. Cousins threw it right between his numbers. That was not a good throw by the Vikings’ quarterback. A pretty scary illegal block on the return by Nick Bosa pushed the 49ers back to the Vikings’ 44-yard line.
– What a methodical drive by the 49ers. Eight plays, all runs, and they went 44 yards for a touchdown. Coleman plowed in from three yards out for his second score of the game. It’s 24-10, 49ers.
– Bosa is everywhere defensively right now. This defense looks like it did the first half of the season. Another Vikings punt after Cousins nearly threw another pick on third down.
– The 49ers called 11 straight runs across two series. Their last three didn’t get a first down though and they punted with 1:10 left in the third quarter. The kick was muffed and Raheem Mostert dove on it at the Vikings’ 10-yard line. That might do it.
– San Francisco didn’t get in the end zone after the muffed punt, but they ran some clock and kicked a field goal to go up 27-10 early in the fourth quarter. It looked like the 49ers were content on taking a field goal on that series.
– Now a Bosa sack. It’s the third of the day for the 49ers defense and it forces another Vikings punt. They’re pinning their ears back and flying around with a 17-point lead. That defensive front has been stellar.
– After a 49ers punt, another Vikings drive ends with a sack. This time Cousins gets blasted by DeForest Buckner. Four sacks for the 49ers and this one feels over.
– On a fourth-and-1 from the 49ers’ 40-yard-line, Cousins aired one out for Stefon Diggs. Diggs got hands on it behind Emmanuel Moseley, but Jimmie Ward laid a big hit to dislodge the ball and force an incompletion. The 49ers need a couple first downs to seal this one.
– Well, Breida had the game-ending fourth-down conversion, but he fumbled to give the Vikings a small gasp of life at the 50 with 1:45 left in regulation. That’s a tough look for Breida, who’s seen limited usage as the season’s worn on. He was in because Mostert is dealing with a calf injury.
– Solomon Thomas got a sack for a loss of 12, in case there was any doubt about how this game is going.
– Down goes Cousins again. Bosa and Buckner combine for the sack to bring up third-and-29.
– That’ll do it. The 49ers get a stop on fourth-and-22 to end it. San Francisco will face either the Packers or Seahawks in the NFC championship game.