4th-Down Miscommunication Dooms Vikings In Loss To 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The midseason skid that looked arsenic though it could derail the San Francisco 49ers play is firmly successful the past.

After getting backmost to a palmy look of dominating connected the ground, the Niners person won 3 consecutive games and again look similar a contender successful the NFC.

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Deebo Samuel ran for 2 touchdowns before leaving with an wounded and Elijah Mitchell rushed for 133 yards and a score, starring the 49ers to a 34-26 triumph implicit the Minnesota Vikings connected Sunday.

“We’re each excited to beryllium backmost successful the premix and person the play successful our control,” antiaircraft extremity Nick Bosa said. “We each knew we were a truly bully team. We had to execute amended and present we’re starting to execute astatine the close time.”

The matchup betwixt 2 .500 teams warring for wild-card spots was a highly entertaining 1 with six scores successful the 3rd 4th alone, including a 99-yard kickoff instrumentality score by Minnesota’s Kene Nwangwu.

But the 49ers (6-5) made conscionable capable plays, including a fourth-down halt adjacent the extremity enactment midway done the 4th fourth to triumph their 3rd consecutive pursuing a agelong of 5 losses successful six games.

“I deliberation some of america are playing truly bully shot these past mates of weeks,” Niners manager Kyle Shanahan said. “We person crushed to marque up and that’s wherefore we believed it would beryllium similar a playoff game. When 2 teams are playing inspired and person everything connected the line, that’s wherefore it’s a bully shot crippled for radical to watch. It’s not ever the astir amusive tense-wise for everybody. But I’m arrogant of our guys and however they handled it.”

Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 230 yards and a TD, but the Niners erstwhile again did much of their enactment connected the crushed with Samuel’s 2 scores making him the archetypal receiver since the merger to tally for 5 TDs successful a season. Samuel had six carries for 66 yards and besides caught 1 walk for 15 yards earlier leaving with a groin wounded that helium hopes is not serious.

San Francisco finished with 208 yards rushing connected 39 carries.

“They came with it,” Vikings linebacker Erick Kendricks said. “We knew that their tally crippled was truly good. Very complex, precise confusing. They person a batch of radical to artifact and unfastened up for it. It was astir eliminating that and we didn’t bash it.”

Kirk Cousins threw for 238 yards and two TDs to Adam Thielen for the Vikings (5-6). But helium besides had an interception that acceptable up a abbreviated San Francisco scoring thrust successful the 3rd 4th and couldn’t link with Justin Jefferson connected the 4th down from the 3 aft burning a timeout erstwhile helium lined up nether the defender alternatively of the center.

The Niners drove down into field-goal range, but Robbie Gould missed from 42 yards with 1:56 near and a accidental to enactment the crippled away.

Minnesota drove to the San Francisco 38 earlier turning it implicit connected downs erstwhile Cousins missed Jefferson connected fourth-and-8.

QUICK STRIKE

The 49ers scored doubly successful a 22-second span of the 3rd 4th starting erstwhile Samuel capped the archetypal thrust of the fractional with a 3-yard run.

Azeez Al-Shaair got an interception on the adjacent play from scrimmage, capping Cousins’ streak of 212 consecutive passes without an interception.

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Mitchell ran it successful from 6 yards on the adjacent play.

SCORING LATE

The Niners utilized an 87-yard thrust to necktie the crippled precocious successful the 2nd 4th connected Garoppolo’s 3-yard walk to Jauan Jennings with 18 seconds near successful the half.

The Vikings person allowed 66 points successful the last 2 minutes of the archetypal half, the astir for immoderate squad done 11 games since astatine slightest 2000.

PLAYING FROM AHEAD

The Vikings scored connected their 2nd thrust of the crippled when Cousins deed Thielen connected a 2-yard pass on fourth-and-goal to instrumentality a 7-0 lead. That made Minnesota the 17th squad successful the Super Bowl epoch to instrumentality a pb of astatine slightest 7 points successful each of the archetypal 11 games.

The archetypal 16 teams to bash it combined for an .852 winning percentage. The Vikings are the lone squad to bash it and person a losing record.

KEY INJURIES

Vikings: RB Dalvin Cook (shoulder) near aft getting wounded successful the 3rd 4th erstwhile helium mislaid a fumble. Cook volition person an MRI connected Monday. … LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) besides near successful the 3rd quarter.

49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw (groin) and RB Trey Sermon (ankle) near the crippled with injuries successful the archetypal fractional and didn’t return. Greenlaw was backmost for his archetypal crippled since injuring his groin successful the play opener. … LB Fred Warner (hamstring) near successful the 2nd half.

UP NEXT

Vikings: Visit Detroit connected Sunday.

49ers: Visit Seattle connected Sunday.

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