Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers: Second quarter recap and third quarter discussion

We’re at halftime of the NFC Divisional Playoffs, and your Minnesota Vikings trail the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 14-10.

The Niners started the second quarter by punting the ball away, and we got a little excitement as Marcus Sherels bobbled it a bit before falling on it. Thanks to a sack of Kirk Cousins by Arik Armstead on first down, the Vikings had their second three-and-out of the afternoon, with Richie James returning the Britton Colquitt punt to near midfield.

The Niners pushed into Minnesota territory, and dodged a significant bullet after Deebo Samuel was ruled to have fumbled the ball away but a review of the play showed that he was down prior to the ball coming out. They took advantage of the extra life, as Tevin Coleman went into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Robbie Gould added the extra point, and the home team was back on top again by a score of 14-7.

The Vikings, despite a nice return from Ameer Abdullah on the ensuing kickoff, went three-and-out again and punted the ball back to the Niners. The Vikings did get a turnover on the next drive, however, as Jimmy Garoppolo threw one that was intercepted by Eric Kendricks at the Niners’ 29-yard line for the game’s first turnover.

Unfortunately, a bad pass from Cousins and a sack from Dee Ford force the Vikings to settle for a 39-yard field goal from Dan Bailey to cut the deficit to 14-10, and that’s how it went into the locker room.

Cousins hasn’t had a great day thus far, even though he’s completed just about all of his throws. He’s completed 10-of-12 passes for just 81 yards, with half of those yards coming on the 41-yard touchdown to Diggs. That’s Diggs’ only catch on the day, but it was a big one. Adam Thielen has a pair of catches for 21 yards, and Dalvin Cook actually has four receptions, but they’ve gained a total of eight yards. Tyler Conklin (5 yards), Irv Smith Jr. (3 yards), and Kyle Rudolph (3 yards) each have one catch so far.

The run game has generated almost nothing thus far, as Cook has just 11 yards on six carries. Alexander Mattison has a three-yard run, and that’s everything the run game has accomplished thus far.

We’re through the first half at Levi’s Stadium, and the Minnesota Vikings trail the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 14-10, with the Niners receiving the second half kickoff. Can the Vikings start the comeback after halftime?