Niner Noise
FanSided

49ers to play Minnesota Vikings in divisional round of 2020 NFL playoffs

By Nathan Bannerman

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 05: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after defeating the New Orleans Saints 26-20 during overtime in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 05: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after defeating the New Orleans Saints 26-20 during overtime in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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After having a week off, the San Francisco 49ers finally know who they will host in the NFC divisional game. With their 26-20 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, the Minnesota Vikings will make the trip to Levi’s Stadium.

Thanks to the eight teams who played in Wild Card weekend for some of the most exciting playoff games we’ll ever see. It was nice to finally see some thrilling games without the San Francisco 49ers being in them for a week, to save our hearts.

The Niners knew, coming into the playoffs, they would face the lowest-seeded winner. It could have been one of three teams: the fourth-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, the fifth-seeded Seattle Seahawks or the sixth-seed, the Minnesota Vikings. The only guarantees were they couldn’t face the Green Bay Packers, who were also on a bye, or the New Orleans Saints as they were sitting in the third seed.

With their Wild Card victory on Sunday, the Vikings will make the trip out west to face San Francisco in the NFC divisional round. They’ll have only a few days to prepare for the game, as kickoff will be on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4:35 p.m. ET.

This could be an advantage for the 49ers.

It was an upset victory in the Big Easy for the Vikings. The Vikings were down for most of the first half, until running back Dalvin Cook ran in for a 5-yard score just before halftime. You can never count out quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints, however. After the Saints tied it up on a Wil Lutz field goal, sending the contest into overtime, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins drove his offense down the field and found tight end Kyle Rudolph for the game-winning touchdown.

The 49ers and Vikings have played each other 47 times over the years. Each team has 23 wins and they have combined for one tie. Their last playoff meeting was way back in the 1998 NFC divisional playoff game. It was a 38-22 victory for San Francisco. At the time, the 49ers were lead by quarterback Steve Young, and the Vikings were lead by quarterback Randall Cunningham.

In the 2019 NFC divisional playoff game, the 49ers have quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm, while the Vikings have Cousins.

These teams met in September of last season with the Vikings taking it 24-16. In that game, Garoppolo threw three interceptions. On the other side, Cousins tossed two touchdowns and 244 yards.

Next. 5 players who'll thrive in 49ers' run through playoffs. dark

Meanwhile, the Action Network named the Niners as seven-point favorites to open up odds for the contest.