Vikings Revive Playoff Hopes With Monday Night Upset Over 49ers

Behind a stellar Kirk Cousins performance, Minnesota stunned San Francisco for its third win in four weeks.

Many assumed the Vikings would be sellers ahead of next week’s trade deadline because they entered Monday night with a losing record before hosting the mighty 49ers.

Some even dreamed of a scenario in which Kirk Cousins found his way to the Jets or another quarterback-needy team, even though Cousins has a no-trade clause and reportedly has no intentions of waiving it.

Even if the Vikings could trade Cousins, they probably wouldn’t after Cousins was sensational in the 22–17 upset win against those mighty 49ers. With Cousins playing like a top-10 quarterback—to steal a line from Troy Aikman—the Vikings (3–4) suddenly have a realistic path to the postseason, despite starting the season 0–3.

Cousins had no trouble carving up the 49ers’ defense with Jordan Addison as his lead wideout. Instead of being sellers, perhaps the Vikings look to add help for Cousins to continue staying afloat, as they wait for star wideout Justin Jefferson to recover from his hamstring injury.

Cousins set season highs in completions (35) and yards (378) in Monday’s 22–17 win over the 49ers :: Abbie Parr/AP

As for those dreaming of their favorite team acquiring edge rusher Danielle Hunter? Don’t hold your breath. Hunter, the league leader in sacks with nine, will likely continue rushing the passer for blitz-happy defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

For the 49ers, who now have a two-game losing streak, they might need more than just a reliable kicker (rookie kicker Jake Moody missed another field-goal attempt Monday night). Perhaps San Francisco just needs a healthy Deebo Samuel to get back on track with its star-studded roster—though it might not be a bad idea to make roster upgrades via trades after seeing what the Eagles did to the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.

Brock Purdy did not play like a top-10 quarterback Monday night, but Aikman did speak very highly of him during the ESPN broadcast. Purdy had two costly interceptions to Vikings safety Camryn Bynum in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco received an extra opportunity to rally after Vikings kicker Greg Joseph missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt with 1:16 left in regulation. Five plays later, Purdy threw his second interception to Bynum to seal the win for the Vikings. Brace yourself for the TV hot takes that will be unleashed Tuesday morning about Purdy being solely a game manager for the 49ers. Purdy struggled, but his defense did as well vs. the duo of Cousins and Addison.

Cousins completed 35-of-45 passes for 378 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Addison finished with seven catches for 123 yards and two scores. Purdy went 21-of-30 for 272 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The 49ers (5–2) had plenty of opportunities to overcome their largest deficit of the season (12 points) because the Vikings failed to get touchdowns inside the red zone multiple times. The comeback door was also left open when coach Kevin O’Connell decided to punt in San Francisco territory and opted for Joseph’s missed field-goal attempt instead of being aggressive in the final quarter.

But San Francisco struggled to manufacture a rally because of Purdy’s turnovers and the constant pressure he saw from the Vikings. Flores, however, got burned on one of his blitz plays after Christian McCaffrey recorded a 35-yard touchdown catch to trim the Vikings’ lead to 19–14 with 5:54 in the third quarter.

Addison, the rookie first-round pick, put on a show in the first half, catching two touchdowns to help the Vikings go into halftime with a 16–7 advantage.

Addison’s second receiving touchdown stole the momentum from the 49ers after they scored their first touchdown on a McCaffrey three-yard run to trim Minnesota’s lead to three points with 1:01 left before halftime. Addison also stole the ball from cornerback Chavarious Ward’s hands before he took off for the 60-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the second quarter. Earlier in the game, Ward ripped the ball from Addison’s hands to give Cousins an interception on Minnesota’s opening drive.

The Vikings built a 10–0 advantage with two lengthy drives to keep Purdy on the sideline. Each drive went for at least 10 plays and took more than six minutes off the clock. But Minnesota left points on the board, failing to find the end zone on the second scoring drive, despite having a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line midway through the second quarter.

Controlling the clock helped the Vikings create a double-digit lead, but they also caught a break after Moody missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt.

Overall, the Vikings weren’t lucky Monday night. They earned the win behind Cousins’s heroics against one of the best defenses in the league. They can now see a path to make the postseason as a wild-card team in the NFC—that seventh seed seems to be up for grabs.

The 49ers will be O.K., despite the two-game losing streak. But they’ll need to make some adjustments if they want to end their Super Bowl drought.