SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ The Vikings' season ended at Levi's Stadium on Saturday, with a defeat so resounding that it dulled the euphoria of a last-second playoff win over the Saints for the second time in three years.
But where their 38-7 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game two years ago felt like they'd been felled by a lightning strike, their 27-10 loss to the 49ers in the NFC divisional playoffs on Saturday saw the Vikings pummeled by an opponent that was methodical, unrelenting and, in the end, unquestionably superior.
Were the Vikings drained playing six days after an emotional wild-card win over the Saints (or physically depleted from a grueling season's worth of games and practices)? Were they simply outclassed by the speed and ferocity of a 49ers defense that had answers for them at practically every turn?
Answering those questions will now be the offseason task of a regime that has reached the playoffs three times in five years _ and made its case for stability after beating the 13-3 Saints on the road on Sunday. But as the season ended in San Francisco, what stood out most was perhaps the size of the gap between the Vikings and the team that will host the NFC Championship Game next Sunday.
"They were a lot better than we were today," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "They're a good football team. I think they've got a lot of good players, and they do a great job. But on the same token, we do, too. We made too many mistakes today, and we did not execute near as well as we needed to."
The Vikings managed only four first downs in the game's first three quarters, running for just 15 yards against a defense that beat the Vikings at the point of the attack and used fast linebackers to close off angles.
It left Kirk Cousins vulnerable to San Francisco's pass rush as he worked to convert third-and-longs, and aside from a deep ball that Stefon Diggs turned into a 41-yard touchdown, the quarterback appeared out of phase with his top two receivers at critical moments.
"They didn't need to blitz much; they got good pressure with their four guys," Zimmer said. "I mean, pressure affects quarterbacks, typically. I don't think it had anything to do with a four-man rush or an eight-man rush."
Cousins misfired on a throw near the goal line for Diggs late in the second half, in what turned out to be the Vikings' last decent chance to tie the game.
With the Vikings down 17-10 in the second half, Richard Sherman intercepted a pass that Adam Thielen said "was completely my fault" for not crossing Sherman's face on his route. The 49ers' ensuing drive was as profound a statement of their physical superiority as any they made all day.
After Sherman returned the interception to the Vikings' 44, Jimmy Garoppolo handed off eight straight times; each of the first seven runs went for at least four yards, before Tevin Coleman strolled in for a two-yard touchdown.
San Francisco's lead was 14; it felt like much more. It grew to 17 after Marcus Sherels _ who'd already muffed a punt earlier in the game _ fumbled one inside the Vikings' 10, and the 49ers kicked a field goal.
Cousins connected on the touchdown to Diggs and a 12-yard pass to Thielen in the game's first three quarters; his next pass that gained more than 10 yards didn't come until he connected with Diggs for 16 with just over four minutes to go.
Whether it was because he didn't have time to look downfield or because he chose not to throw deeper passes, the quarterback nonetheless saw his season end with 172 passing yards, on a day where his first 20 passes averaged just 3.7 yards in the air, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
"I think there was one to Irv that I would have liked to have taken; I think it was the second half," Cousins said. "They've allowed the fewest explosive plays in the pass game of anybody in the NFL because they drop and force you to take checkdowns. The last thing you want to do is force it. When they do give you the chances, like we did to Diggsy, you take it. But for the most part, you also expect to have to chip away and just take what they give you."
Said Zimmer: "I think we had some called and we didn't throw them. We threw the one to Diggs. We had a couple others called during the course of the game, and for whatever reason, they didn't get done."
San Francisco's Jimmy Garoppolo only threw for 131 yards, and gave the Vikings an extra chance in the first half when he appeared not to see Eric Kendricks dropping into an underneath zone for an interception, but the 49ers could lean on their running game to drain the clock, finishing with 186 yards on 47 attempts for the day.
Coleman ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns for the Niners (14-3).
Vikings Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook never got going, with nine carries for 18 yards and six catches for 8 yards. Cousins was sacked six times.
The 49ers dominated the first half, outgaining the Vikings 159-83 and limiting them to 14 rushing yards. Still, the Vikings stayed within 14-10 thanks to a long touchdown pass and an interception that set up a field goal.
San Francisco went ahead 7-0 on its opening drive, an eight-play, 61-yarder that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to Kendrick Bourne. The Vikings responded to tie before the first quarter ended when Cousins threw a long pass down the left sideline for Diggs. The pass was underthrown, but Diggs came back on cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to snare it, then outran Witherspoon to the end zone for a 41-yard score.
Coleman's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter gave the 49ers a 14-7 lead. The dozens of TV cameras were not the Vikings' friends on that drive, as San Francisco's Deebo Samuel appeared to fumble after a short run when hit by Xavier Rhodes, and Harrison Smith recovered for the Vikings.
But one replay clearly showed Samuel's knee was down, and the 49ers retained the ball at the Vikings' 35. On the previous play, Garoppolo completed a 15-yarder to Samuel on a third-and-12, a big giveup by the Vikings defense.
That same defense got a turnover with two minutes left in the half as Garappolo was intercepted by Kendricks. The Vikings (11-7) took over at the Niners' 29, but had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Dan Bailey to get within four by halftime.
