Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers: Key information and first quarter discussion

We are just about ready for today’s matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and your Minnesota Vikings at Levi’s Stadium in a game that could have big implications on the NFC playoff picture. We’re less than an hour from kickoff, so let’s give you everything you need to know about today’s game.

Date and Time: Sunday, 28 November 2021, 3:25 PM Central time

Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Television Coverage: KSTP-9 in the Twin Cities, FOX affiliates around the country, DirecTV Channel 714

Radio Coverage: Vikings Radio Network, Sirius Channel 158, XM Channel 382, SiriusXM App Channel 820

Line: Vikings +3, Over/Under 49.5

Chris’ Prediction: 49ers 24, Vikings 20

Three Keys

1) Make Jimmy Garoppolo beat you - The Vikings are beaten up on the defensive line, as they’re likely going to be starting four non-starters up front today. Kyle Shanahan’s team is going to want to run the football, but the Vikings need to do everything they can to slow that down and force the Niners to beat them through the air. If they can do that, they can keep this one even.

2) Stay aggressive on offense - Over the past couple of weeks, the Vikings have found a new level of aggression on offense, and they’ve gotten some pretty good results from it. Kirk Cousins seems more willing to take shots down the field and trust his receivers, and the Vikings need to do more of that this week since the Niners will likely be looking to slow down Dalvin Cook as much as possible.

3) Keep the penalties down - Last week, the Vikings were only flagged for three penalties against the Packers. And wouldn’t you know it, but the Vikings’ offense rolled for most of the afternoon as a result. The Vikings were the most penalized team in the NFL going into last week’s game, but the discipline they started last week needs to continue in this one.

Know the Foe: Niners Nation

Twitter: @DailyNorseman

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That’s all of the important information you need before today’s game gets underway, folks. As we always do, we will start a new Discussion Thread at the start of each quarter, so make sure you keep your eyes open for those and keep the discussion moving along accordingly.

As you can see, I don’t know if the Vikings are going to be able to pull this one off. Hopefully in about three hours or so everyone will be able to meet up back here and tell me all about how wrong I was.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!