Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers
Monster Park
San Francisco, California
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th+OT | F | |
| Vikings | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 49ers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Minnesota | Stat | San Francisco |
| 176.8 ypg (1st) | Rush Offense | 86.6 ypg (27th) |
| 164.5 ypg (31st) | Pass Offense | 145.1 ypg (32nd) |
| 341.3 ypg (12th) | Total Offense | 231.7 ypg (32nd) |
| 23.2 ppg (10th) | Scoring Offense | 13.7 ppg (32nd) |
| 70.5 ypg (1st) | Rush Defense | 124 ypg (27th) |
| 278.7 ypg (32nd) | Pass Defense | 222.2 ypg (20th) |
| 349.2 ypg (24th) | Total Defense | 346.2 ypg (23rd) |
| 19.8 ppg (10th) | Scoring Defense | 23.8 ppg (24th) |
Not going to spend a lot of time on this for the moment. . .I'm heading back over to the Medical Center here to be with my wife. They took her out of the ICU yesterday and moved her into an actual room in the hospital, and she's talking and eating and everything else. She's relatively weak, which is to be expected when you've been under sedation for the better part of a week, but as I said, she's eating and talking and all that other good stuff. So, I'm going to get this up, head over to the Medical Center to be with her, come back home long enough to watch the game, and then head back over there.
I want to thank everyone again for all their well wishes and prayers. They really, truly are appreciated by myself and the rest of the family.
As far as the game itself, as you can see from the stats above, this looks like it SHOULD be a mismatch. The Vikings' offensive strength plays to the Niners' defensive weakness, and it doesn't look like the Niners have the passing game to exploit the Vikings' defensive weakness (although that "weakness" has been much stronger lately). The Niners are also tied for second-worst in the league in sacks allowed with 43 (tied with Kansas City. . .only Detroit has given up more), and if Leslie Frazier continues dialing up the kind of pressure that he has been the last couple of weeks, it should be a very long day for Niners quarterback Trent Dilfer.
I said at the beginning of the week that this has all the makings of a trap game, and is the sort of game that the Vikings historically lose. I'm usually loathe to predict Vikings' blowouts for just that reason. However, for the first time since after the Seattle game last season, I've got some real, honest-to-God confidence in this team, and I think they're going to make the trip out to the West Coast this afternoon and take care of business the way a team that's making a run at the post-season should.
And hey, if it comes back to bite me in the ass later on. . .meh, no big deal. After all, if this week has taught me one big, important thing, it's that this is just football.
Gonzo's Final Score Prediction: Vikings 31, Niners 10
That's all for now, folks. . .oh, and remember to cheer for Jacksonville, Seattle, Dallas, and. . .well, who you feel like cheering for in the New York/Philadelphia game. Either outcome in that one benefits us, I think.
SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!