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The Minnesota Vikings already came through with one upset this postseason. Can they drum up another?
After defeating the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round this past weekend, the Vikings will head to the Bay to battle the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
The 49ers finished with the No. 1 seed in the NFC for a reason, so this will be one heck of a task for Minnesota.
However, the Vikings are talented enough on both sides of the football to get the job done.
Here are a couple of big X-factors for Minnesota in San Francisco:
The pass rush
The Vikings tallied 48 sacks during the regular season, which ranked fifth in the NFL.
While Minnesota's pass-rushing prowess was not on full display against the Saints (the Vikings totaled three sacks in the win), it definitely has the capability to put a whole lot of pressure on the quarterback in any given week.
It should be noted that the 49ers did a solid job of protecting Jimmy Garoppolo this season, as they only allowed 36 sacks, but the Vikings' pass rush is a different animal.
Keep in mind that Garoppolo has no playoff experience, so if Minnesota can apply consistent pressure, it may be able to rattle Garoppolo and force him into some bad decisions.
Garoppolo had an up-and-down regular season, and while he was very impressive for a stretch during the second half, there is no doubt that he remains a question mark heading into the playoffs.
The Vikings surely know this, and they also know that the Niners need Garoppolo to be effective to keep their potent run game going.
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If Minnesota can get into the backfield and get Garoppolo on the run, it will really throw a wrench into San Francisco's plans. Garoppolo isn't Drew Bledsoe back there, but he also isn't Lamar Jackson.
The running game
It's no secret that the Vikings rely heavily on their running game.
Whether it's Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison or Mike Boone, Minnesota has a lethal backfield that that can run opposing defenses ragged.
As dominant as the 49ers' defense has been as a whole this season, their run defense has not been great, as they allowed 112.6 rushing yards per game during the regular season, which ranked 17th in the NFL. In addition, San Francisco surrendered a hefty 4.5 yards per carry, which ranked 23rd.
That doesn't exactly bode well against a Vikings rushing attack that averaged 133.3 yards per game while logging 4.5 yards per attempt in 2019.
Minnesota seemed perfectly content giving Cook a heavy workload against the Saints, handing him the ball 28 times, which resulted in 94 yards and a couple of touchdowns.
If the Vikings did that against a decent run defense in New Orleans, they will certainly employ the same strategy against the Niners, and it's something the 49ers may not have the personnel to handle.
Make no mistake: if Minnesota wants to beat San Francisco, it absolutely has to have success running the football. If it can do that, it will have a great chance of advancing to the NFC Championship Game.
