49ers report card: Dee Ford’s return aids dominant defense in win over Vikings
The 49ers handled business in their first playoff game Saturday at Levi’s Stadium, thumping the No. 6 seed Minnesota Vikings 27-10 in their NFC playoff game.
Here are our grades.
Passing offense: D
Jimmy Garoppolo got going early, completing 5 of 6 passes on his first series that ended in a 3-yard Kendrick Bourne touchdown in the back of the end zone. Garoppolo made a bad decision near the end of the first half when he threw an interception to linebacker Eric Kendricks while looking for Deebo Samuel on a post route. Garoppolo was asked to throw just 19 times, his fewest of the season, while the running game was San Francisco’s bread and butter. Garoppolo finished 11 of 19 for 131 yards with a touchdown and interception, and a passer rating of 74.7.
Rushing offense: A-
Running back Tevin Coleman scored his first touchdown since late November when he dove in over left tackle from 1-yard out in the second quarter to cap a strong drive that was kept alive because Samuel had a fumble overturned via replay. The 49ers made it 24-10 with eight straight runs culminating in Coleman’s second score of the game, giving him multiple for the first time since he had four against the Panthers in late October. Coleman finished with 101 yards as coach Kyle Shanahan leaned heavily on his rushing attack to complement a defense that was back to its dominant form.
Passing defense: A
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon in the first quarter appeared to have good position on a third-down deep pass to Stefon Diggs, but Diggs outmaneuvered him to catch Kirk Cousins’ pass for a 41-yard game-tying touchdown. Witherspoon was benched after that drive in favor of Emmanuel Moseley. Dee Ford, who hasn’t played since early December due to a hamstring strain, had a third-down sack at the end of the first half following Garoppolo’s interception that forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal.
Richard Sherman recorded his third career postseason interception on Minnesota’s first series after halftime. Kirk Cousins had just 87 passing yards before the Vikings got the ball back with 5 minutes remaining down by 17. He finished with 151 yards on 20 of 28 completions with a passer rating of 84.3. All four of the team’s top pass rushers, Nick Bosa (twice), Ford, Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner recorded sacks. The Vikings finished with 147 total yards and seven first downs.
Rushing defense: A
The 49ers limited running back Dalvin Cook to 19 yards on 10 touches while Minnesota had 14 yards on seven carries in the first half. The road team had 83 yards at halftime, with 41 coming on Diggs’ touchdown. San Francisco emphasized slowing down the talented running back all week and held him to 18 yards on nine carries. Minnesota, the NFL’s fifth-ranked rushing offense, averaged 134 yards per game during the regular season.
Special teams: B
Robbie Gould hit a 35-yard field goal to start the third quarter, making it 17-10. Raheem Mostert recovered a muffed punt at the Vikings 10-yard line setting up a field goal to make it 27-10 early in the fourth quarter. Kickoff returner Ameer Abdullah regularly put Minnesota in good position.
Coaching: B
Shanahan may have gotten too cute near the Vikings’ goal line early in the fourth quarter by calling a pair of gadget plays to try getting George Kittle into the end zone. But ultimately it was a small blemish in an otherwise strong performance, particularly on the defensive side. Shanahan and his assistants managed the roster to get it healthy for the biggest game of the season. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh dialed up a strong performance to get the defense rolling again, and the 49ers will find themselves in the NFC title game next week for the 14th time since 1980.
This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
