Three Takeaways From 49ers' 27-10 Division-Round Win Over Vikings

After a week of rest and preparation, the 49ers quickly obliterated any notions of being “pretenders” on Saturday, disposing of the Minnesota Vikings in the first 49ers playoff game in Levi’s Stadium history. Here are three takeaways from today's win.

 After a week of rest and preparation, the 49ers quickly obliterated any notions of being “pretenders” on Saturday, disposing of the Minnesota Vikings in the first playoff game - other than Super Bowl 50 - in Levi’s Stadium history.

San Francisco won its first playoff game since 2014, defeating Minnesota 27-10 behind their defense and stellar running game. Five different Niners recorded a sack and Tevin Coleman rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns en route to the commanding victory.

The 49ers must wait a day to find out their next opponent, as Seattle and Green Bay will match up at Lambeau Field to decide the final spot in the NFC Championship Game.

49ers Defensive Line Sets the Tone

Although the 49ers received considerable production from all units, the defensive line really shined. Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Sheldon Day all made their presence known with huge plays.

Quality production is expected from Armstead, Buckner, Bosa and Ford, but Day’s strong performance came at the perfect time. Day’s snap count increased due to the numerous injuries along the defensive line, and his importance skyrocketed Saturday with the run-first Vikings coming to town.

The reserve defensive tackle made his third start of the season and helped bottle up elite running back Dalvin Cook.

While Day’s production went under the radar, the star four linemen were all over the field. Armstead, Buckner, Bosa and Ford each had at least a sack, tackle-for-loss and QB hit, to disrupt the Minnesota offensive game plan.

Ford made an immediate impact in his first game since week 14. His return was not only felt by those he tackled, but by his fellow linemen. The Vikings simply could not block Armstead, Bosa, Buckner and Ford at the same time. Almost every play, one seemed to get through the line and make a difference.

Nick Bosa on getting Dee Ford and Kwon Alexander back: “It’s a completely different energy. It’s the energy we had early in the year.”

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 12, 2020

Even the backups had their way with the Minnesota offensive line. With under two minutes to play, and the game far out of reach, Anthony Zettel joined the fun and recorded his first career sack for the 49ers.

In total, the 49ers had six sacks, nine TFLs and nine QB hits on a Minnesota offensive line that surrendered just 28 sacks this regular season (tied for fifth best in the NFL).

49ers Finally Switch Moseley in for Witherspoon

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was a big reason why the 49ers’ defense got off to such a hot start this season. Yet, similar to the rest of his career, inconsistent play and lapses in coverage caught up to him on Saturday

Since the 49ers have one of the best cornerbacks of the last 20 years on one side of the field in Richard Sherman, the second cornerback will always be picked on. Not only did Minnesota go at Witherspoon, the Vikings designed their offense toward attacking him.

After being absolutely torched by Minnesota on the second drive, the starting corner was quickly relegated to the bench in favor of Emmanuel Moseley. Witherspoon was burned with a costly pass interference, a 12-yard catch by Adam Thielen and a 41-yard touchdown by Stefon Diggs.

Cousins ➡️ Diggs for 6⃣🤯 #GoGetIt pic.twitter.com/A7XCWNmynY

— Stadium (@Stadium) January 11, 2020

Shanahan said that it was his call to switch Moseley in for Witherspoon after the Vikings TD pass. Said he told Witherspoon before the game that might happen. "He knew," Shanahan said. "If he was struggling at all, we weren't going to hesitate."

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) January 12, 2020

Moseley, who made nine starts this season, took over for Witherspoon on the third drive and stabilized the coverage. On consecutive drives, he made third-down tackles to force Minnesota punts, while also blanketing Diggs.

His shutdown play continued in the second half as he forced a three-and-out with a quick Thielen tackle and a third-down pass deflection intended for Kyle Rudolph.

Moseley officially put the game on ice when he broke up a fourth-down pass intended for Diggs. The play looked eerily similar to the one Diggs burned Witherspoon on in the first quarter, but unlike Witherspoon, Moseley was able to hand-fight Diggs and force the incompletion.

No Nerves on Offense

The San Francisco offense was near-perfect on Saturday, and the opening drive set the tone. Coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo effectively carved up the vaunted Minnesota defense with first-half deep passes to Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne. 

In the second half, Shanahan utilized Coleman and Raheem Mostert to gash the tired Vikings defense, burn the clock and put the game out of reach.

By keying on All-Pro tight end George Kittle, the Vikings seemingly forced Garoppolo to feed his wide receivers. Garoppolo made Minnesota pay from the get-go, completing four passes over 10 yards on the opening drive. He capped it off with a touchdown pass to Bourne. 

The second-half dominance was fueled by Coleman and Mostert, who both averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Coleman eclipsed double-digit carries for the first time since week 12 and 100 yards for the first time since week eight.

With the ground-game so effective, and the air-attack showing flashes of greatness, the 49ers hold the keys to their own destiny.

Saturday’s playoff win will be celebrated as the 49ers’ first at Levi’s Stadium, but it also shows how far the 49ers have come under Shanahan. Since Sherman ended San Francisco’ last chance scoring opportunity in the 2014 NFC Championship, the 49ers have been in a tumultuous downhill spiral.

Yet, Saturday’s win eased a lot of that pain. Now they are one home victory from their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2012 season when they lost to the Ravens in New Orleans. The 49ers have won five Super Bowls, but none since the 1994 season.