Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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2. Lack of efficiency on 3rd downs
A week after dominating the Saints on third downs, the Vikings couldn’t replicate the same success against the 49ers.
Minnesota’s offense converted just twice on 11 attempts, which was the Vikings worst performance of the season. Cousins was sacked three times on the down.
Conversely, the 49ers converted five times on 12 third downs (42 percent). That was aided by a first half in which San Francisco converted three of its four chances on third downs.
Garoppolo avoided pressure on multiple third-down passes and found receivers for tough catches to move the chains.
3. Too tough of a road
The goal of each team is to win its division and have at least one home playoff game. Minnesota made the playoffs in 2019, but were a Wild Card squad and faced a daunting task as the No. 6 seed.
And while the Vikings shocked the Saints in the Wild Card round, they fell short on the road against the top-seeded 49ers. Minnesota’s past two playoff runs have now ended on the road at the No. 1 seed — against Philadelphia in January of 2018, and against San Francisco on Saturday.
The Vikings were also unable to get two playoff wins in the postseason, something that hasn’t happened since the 1987 Vikings won in New Orleans and in San Francisco.
The last time a No. 6 seed in the NFC made it to the conference championship game was Green Bay in January of 2011.