The Minnesota Vikings take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in key week 12 action from Levi’s Stadium. Both teams are coming off wins, with the Niners beating the Jaguars on the road on Sunday, 30-10, while the Vikings were able to earn a big 34-31 win over the Packers. With both teams putting together little winning streaks to get to .500 after tough starts, this game looms as a major point in their respective seasons. And getting to 6-5 and for a big potential finish that could save a season means this is a high-stakes battle in Santa Clara. Who can get it done?
Both Teams Clicking
The Vikings beat the Chargers on the road before getting it done against Green Bay on Sunday, giving them two high-quality wins in a row. After a season of close games that didn’t go their way most of the time with a defense that was underperforming on a major scale, they’ve seen things go better. The defense isn’t getting run over while making some big plays. QB Kirk Cousins and his wealth of options with Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and others are playing well, and the offense is delivering more regularly. The offensive line is getting good push. They’re a dangerous team going into this last handful of games.
Wins over the Rams and Jags, both by at least 20 points, have the Niners back on point. Having done it through a string of injuries makes it all the more impressive. They’re getting some efficient performances from Jimmy Garoppolo. The run game is getting cranked up behind an improving line. Deebo Samuel is their Mr. Do Everything, with George Kittle starting to flex his muscles at tight end. The pass-rush is getting it done, with Nick Bosa running wild. The battered secondary has been a lot stouter and making more big plays the last few weeks.
- Get more details: Vikings vs. 49ers Week 12 Betting Stats
Obstacles for San Francisco
Having somewhat subdued an off Rams team, before quelling the Jaguars, we’ll see if a 49ers’ defense missing a lot of pieces can keep pace with a peaking Vikings’ offense. With 92 points in the last three games, the Vikings represent a level of difficulty that could push this SF defense to its limits. Some of the porousness on the Niners’ defensive line could come to bear against this Minnesota O-line and a rampaging Dalvin Cook.
We’ve seen Garoppolo doing a lot better, with Samuel, Kittle, and even Brandon Aiyuk chipping in. Getting Eli Mitchell back, who missed last week with a broken finger, would help their run game, as they’re already pretty deep into their RB barrel. The Vikings’ defense has been fairly substandard this season, and they haven’t even been terribly special during this latest surge. But they are showing more resistance, getting more support from the other side of the ball, and this might not be a cinch for the SF offense, a unit that sometimes falls flat without much persuasion. Able to rise above their conditions sporadically, is the SF offense really bankable on a sustainable level, or could we start to see some regression?
More Picks: Tampa Bay at Indianapolis Free Point Spread Pick
X-Factors
Against a Vikings team that is starting to finally come around on both sides of the ball, do we see some of San Francisco’s issues resonate more? All those injuries, all the compromised areas of play—it has to register at some point, right? Having pieces up front missing, being deep in their RB rotation, and all those pieces missing on defense could be brought more to light if Cousins is clicking with his aerial weaponry, along with Cook running over a SF front seven that has been playing well, but isn’t really near full-power. Or have the multiple seasons playing with rampant injuries given the Niners the depth and experience to better handle these times than perhaps other teams would?
