For the first time since 2013, the 49ers will be hosting an NFL playoff game, as the Minnesota Vikings roll into Levi’s Stadium on Saturday.
Coming off a controversial overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, the Vikings arrive with a lot of confidence and a quarterback that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is quite familiar with in Kirk Cousins.
Both teams enter Saturday’s NFC divisional-round matchup with key players getting healthy at the right time. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook sat out the final two weeks of the regular season while battling chest and shoulder injuries, and is coming off a 94-yard, two-touchdown performance in Minnesota’s upset victory in New Orleans.
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SIGN UP HERE For the Niners, linebacker Kwon Alexander will play Saturday vs. the Vikings. However, the team doesn’t expect the 25-year-old -- who hasn’t played since Oct. 31 after suffering a torn pectoral muscle -- to be in on every defensive snap.
With a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line, Saturday is sure to be a slugfest between two physical teams who both thrive on running the football.
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Here’s how the oddsmakers and NFL experts see Saturday’s game shaking out:
San Francisco 49ers
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LINE
Caesars: SF -7
Consensus: SF -7
Westgate: SF -7
Wynn: SF -7
PREDICTIONS
Nick Wagoner, ESPN: 49ers 27, Vikings 23
Courtney Cronin, ESPN: Vikings 28, 49ers 25
Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk: 49ers 28, Vikings 10
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Vikings 27, 49ers 24 (OT)