Tag: Minnesota Vikings

Headlines Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Niners favored by a TD; Ravens ten point favorites; plus more

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@Ravens photo: Baltimore Ravens host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Playoffs on Saturday

On Headlines Sports with Tony Renteria:

#1 Will the task be easy for the San Francisco 49ers to get by the Minnesota Vikings Saturday or it’s not as easy as it looks. The 49ers picked by seven. In San Francisco’s last game they just got by the Seattle Seahawks by the slimmest of margins 26-21 and for the Minnesota Vikings they just got by the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome 26-20 on a pass to Kyle Rudolph from quarterback Kirk Cousins for the win.

#2 The Ravens have been a pick as on odds favorites to make the Super Bowl, they’ve had lots of rest since their last game of the regular season on Dec 29th against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 28-10 win. It was a game where quarterback LaMar Jackson sat out to rest for the playoffs as Jackson and the Raven are favored to beat the Tennessee Titans this Saturday by 10 points.

#3 The Houston Texans are in Kansas City the Chiefs for Saturday’s playoff match the Chiefs are favored by nine in this one. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mohomes in his last game against San Diego went 16-25 for 174 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

#4 The Seattle Seahawks are in Green Bay, the Packers are favored by four points this one could be even closer than the odds. This game will feature two of the NFC’s best quarterbacks for Seattle Russell Wilson in NFC Wild Card game was 18-30 for 325 yards and for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rogers on the last day of the season on Dec 29th vs. Detroit went 27-55 for a whopping 323 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Tony does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NFL Playoffs podcast with Joe Hawkes: A preview look at all four playoff games this weekend

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nfl playoffs logo

On the NFL Playoffs podcast with J Hawkes:

Joe will take you through each of the following games with news and analysis:

Saturday

#1 Minnesota @ San Francisco: The Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins can work the offense he’s one of the key reasons why the Vikings are where they are in a huge comeback victory over the Saints last weekend. The 49ers got a narrow win themselves when the 49ers prevented the Seahawks at Century Link Field in Seattle to score in the fourth quarter to insure home field advantage.

#2 Tennessee @ Baltimore: The Tennessee Titans (10-7) battle, scratched and clawed to get this far they take a lot of faith and hope into this next game against the Baltimore Ravens. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill went 8-15 for 72 yards and a touchdown in the Titans last game against the New England Patriots in a 20-13 win. For the Ravens (14-2) they’ve been picked as favorites to make the Super Bowl and have tons of confidence in their starting quarterback LaMar Jackson who got this far.

Sunday

#3 Houston @ Kansas City: The Houston Texans got a three point win in their last game over the Buffalo Bills 22-19 to advance to the next round of the playoffs. The Texans with quarterback Deshaun Watson under center threw 247 yards against the Bills and had one touchdown. The favored Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) with quarterback Patrick Mahomes under center have been doing it all year. In the Chiefs last game Mahomes threw for 174 yards, went 16-25 and a touchdown.

#4 Seattle @ Green Bay: This game could be the game of the week in the NFL Playoffs this weekend. This game will provide two of the most exciting quarterbacks in football with Russell Wilson going for the Seahawks and Aaron Rogers going for the Green Bay Packers. In Wilson’s last game against the 49ers Wilson went 25-40, 233 yards, and two touchdowns. For the Packers (13-3) quarterback Aaron Rogers in his last game against Detroit went 27-55 for 323 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.

Joe Hawkes podcasts the NFL post season each Friday and will be covering the NFC Division game at Levis Stadium between Minnesota and San Francisco at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

49ers set to square off against the Vikings in the NFC Divisional Round

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photo from mercurynews.com: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen (19) and quarterback Adam Cousins (8) both are jubilant following Cousins winning touchdown pass to Thielen in New Orleans last Sunday at the Superdome 

By Joe Hawkes
SRS Contributor

In the first game of Sunday’s NFC Wild Card matchup, the Minnesota Vikings stunned the New Orleans Saints, winning 26-20 in overtime to earn their first postseason road victory since Jan. 9, 2005. With the win, the Vikings will travel to Levi’s Stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round.

The Vikings have now eliminated the Saints in two of the last three postseasons. For the Saints, it makes the third-straight postseason that they were bounced out of the playoffs on the game’s final play.

Minnesota won the toss in overtime and took the ball and never looked back. The key play for the Vikings was the 43-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen to move Minnesota to the Saints’ 2-yard line. On 3rd-and-4, Cousins would find Kyle Rudolph in the left corner of the end zone for the game winning score and punching the Vikings’ (11-6) ticket to Santa Clara, Calif.

The sixth-seeded Vikings’ shocking upset over the heavily favored three-seeded Saints (13-4) was largely due to the play of Cousins, who completed 19-of-31 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown.

Thielen, who fumbled on the game’s opening drive, shook off the turnover to lead all Vikings pass catchers with seven catches for 129 yards. After missing the final two games of the season, running back Dalvin Cook returned to the lineup and rushed for 94 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. Cook also registered 36 receiving yards on three catches.

Minnesota’s offense racked up 22 first downs while racking up 362 net yards on the Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

For the top-seeded 49ers (13-3), it is the first time that Levi’s Stadium gets to host a playoff game in the six years that the stadium has been opened. San Francisco, who earned a much needed first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after taking down their bitter rival, the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 at CenturyLink Field, won the NFC West for the first time since 2012.

That season, the 49ers would advance to Super Bowl XLVII.

San Francisco is getting healthy at the right time, as they expect linebacker Kwon Alexander (torn pectoral) and edge rusher Dee Ford back in the fold for the game. Alexander, who was cleared to practice this week, had been on Injured Reserve since Week 9.

Ford missed three weeks with lingering hamstring issues.

Safety Jaquiski Tartt, who missed the final four games of the year with a fractured rib, will be ready to go Saturday.

The 49ers are 4-0 all-time in the divisional round as a top seed. Kickoff for the 49ers’ first playoff game since 2013 is at 1:35 p.m. PT and will be on NBC with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the call. Michelle Tafoya will be reporting from the sidelines.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: A look at this weekends playoff games; Cal tries to get back in win column host Wazuu this Thursday

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sfgate.com file photo: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) drops back to pass as he throws a pass that was fumbled and recovered by the New Orleans Saints in the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in New Orleans.

On the Headlines podcast with Barbara

#1 Taking a look at NFC Playoff game for Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings who surprised just about everybody with a huge victory over the New Orleans Saints at the Super Dome come to Levis Stadium on Saturday to face the 49ers. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a overtime four yard touchdown pass for the victory could the Vikings shock the 49ers too?

#2 The AFC Playoff game for Saturday the Tennessee Titans will face the Baltimore Ravens a team favored to make the Super Bowl the Ravens have been tough all year.

#3 On Sunday in the AFC the Houston Texans are in Kansas City to face the rugged Chiefs. The Chiefs with quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been doing it all season.

#4 Seattle got that big victory in Philadelphia on Sunday now head to Green Bay this should one for the ages as this one will be played on a very tough Lambeau Field

#5 Cal’s Men’s basketball has seen some tough times they took a tough loss to the Stanford Cardinal last Saturday and are hoping to turn things around this Thursday at Haas Pavilion against the visiting Washington State Cougars.

Join Barbara each Tuesday for all the latest in Headline Sports at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: Pats and Brady to decide future; Can Vikings surprise 49ers Sunday? plus more

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usatoday.com file photo: Tom Brady might have played his last game in New England however Robert Kraft team owner is knocking at Brady’s door

On the podcast with Amaury:

#1 The New England Patriots have lots of questions in their off season about Tom Brady’s future where does head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots go from here?

#2 The San Francisco 49ers are hosting the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are coming off a huge win New Orleans one thing for sure the 49ers can’t be too over confident going into this game.

#3 Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones is not one to keep coaches long although his last one Jason Garrett survived nine seasons and finished this season at 8-8 as the Cowboys failed to make post season. Garrett will be replaced by former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.

#4 It was mentioned that congress might take away baseball’s exemption status if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred goes ahead and reduces 42 minor league teams. Will this give Manfred something to think about before pulling the trigger on the 42 minor league teams.

#5 He’s called the Cuban Ohtani- Oscar Luis Colas who defected from Cuba is headed for The Show. Colas is a left handed pitcher, an outfielder and a first baseman.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the radio play by play talent for the Oakland A’s and can be heard on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco 49ers Playoff podcast with David Zizmor: After surprise win in New Orleans will Vikings be a challenge for 49ers?

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sfgate.com file photo: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings and Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers greet each other on the field after the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the 49ers 24-16

On the 49ers podcast with David:

#1 The 49ers host the Minnesota Vikings on Sat Jan 11th at Levi Stadium. The Vikings are coming off a win in New Orleans. Can the Vikings come out and surprise the 49ers after what they did in New Orleans?

#2 The Vikings forced overtime on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for a four yard touchdown in overtime on first possession for the win.

Join David for all of the San Francisco 49ers Playoff podcast coverage at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NFL Playoffs podcast with Joe Hawkes: A look at all the playoff teams this weekend

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houstonchronicle.com: Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) fights for yards against Tennessee Titans defensive back Tramaine Brock (35) as he makes a first down reception during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019, in Nashville.

On the NFL Playoffs podcast with J Hawkes:

#1 On Saturday AFC Playoffs It’s the Houston Texans hosting the Buffalo Bills the Texans are 2.5 point favorites

#2 The Tennessee Titans are in New England to face Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Pats with home field advantage are favored by 4.5.

#3 Sunday’s NFC games: Taking a look at the New Orleans Saints led by quarterback Drew Brees will be in Minnesota. The Saints are favored by eight.

#4 Seattle is the slight underdog as they come calling in Philadelphia against the Eagles who are favored by 1.

J Hawkes will take you right through the NFL playoffs each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco 49ers preview: Rams Seek Revenge While Niners Need to Get On Track

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file photo from 49erswebzone.com: 49ers corner Richard Sherman (left) and tight end George Kittle (right) pose for a selfie with fans

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA — The Niners stumbled in a trap game, yet still, control their own destiny to the NFC one-seed. If they win out, they take the top seed. A loss to the Rams before the NFC West winner-take-all matchup with the Seahawks would give home-field to either Green Bay or New Orleans. Even with a loss this week, San Francisco would win the NFC West with a win in Seattle, thanks to a tiebreaker.

The importance of retaining the #1 seed is crucial for San Francisco. Three of the five 49ers’ Super Bowl victories came when they were the top-seed in the conference.

The good news for San Francisco is they are beginning to get healthier. Both Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams are set to return this Sunday after missing Sunday’s loss. The return of Sherman will be important to get him game time before next weekend’s gauntlet in Seattle. Guard, Mike Person is listed as questionable, fighting a neck injury. Jaquiski Tart (broken ribs) and Dee Ford (quad, hamstring) are listed as out.

The Niners will use this matchup against the Rams to get back on track. San Francisco’s won five of their last eight games against LA, including this year’s week four 20-7 win.

In that win, San Francisco’s defense completely shut down Jared Goff, allowing only 78 passing yards on 24 attempts. The Niners shutout the Rams on third-down, holding them to 0-for-9. The offense was just okay, as Garoppolo threw for 243 yards, 101 of them were caught by George Kittle, of course. Even though Jimmy didn’t throw a TD, he rushed one in San Francisco’s second touchdown of the afternoon.

The Rams have been Jekyll and Hyde this season, looking great at times, beating the Seahawks and Saints, but then getting boat raced by the Cowboys.

Kyle Shanahan mentioned last week about preparing for Atlanta’s Super Bowl. His team didn’t answer, and they’ll face another desperate team this week. LA’s playoff hopes have pretty much gone up in smoke, as they need to win out and pray for a miracle that Minnesota doesn’t beat the Packers or Bears. They hold the final tiebreaker over the Vikings.

His team will need to be ready for everything that the Rams will bring. Todd Gurley has been much more active these last three weeks, nearly totaling 200 yards and three touchdowns. He was inactive when the Niners completely shut down the Rams in week six, expect him to get a lot of carries on Saturday.

Jared Goff is currently fourth in the NFL in passing yards, just shy of 4,000. His 17-15 TD to INT ratio is shocking, however, and can be taken advantage of a hungry 49ers’ defense.

The Niners offense fell back to earth last week, scoring just 22 points. After the best month of his career, Garoppolo finished with 200 yards and a touchdown for a 90.3 rating, the lowest in the last five games. It was also the second-lowest in the last eight weeks. TLDR, Garoppolo has been one of the best QBs in the second half of the season.

If the Niners can contain Gurley, and get to Goff, like they did four times already this year, they should be able to slow down LA’s offense. Meanwhile, their defense is susceptible to the run. Breida only had four carries last week, while Raheem Mostert had 14. Mostert’s been excellent these past few weeks, giving the Niners a multi-headed monster in the backfield.

Vikings drop Raiders to 1-2; Cook’s carries help Vikes to 34-14 win

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from sfgate.com: Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen, right, sacks Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Minneapolis

By Jeremy Kahn

Once again, the Oakland Raiders ran into a buzz saw and once again they were chewed up by their opponent.

Dalvin Cook carried the ball 16 times for 110 yards and a touchdown, helping the Minnesota Vikings to a convincing 34-14 victory over the Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Cook, who is in his third season in the NFL is coming off back-to-back seasons where he suffered debilitating injuries in those seasons.

In his rookie season, Cook tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and last season, he was hampered by a hamstring injury that derailed his season.

Alexander Mattison scored his first NFL touchdown, as the Vikings rushed for 211 yards as a team. Also, for the second time in two home games, the Vikings did not attempt a pass in the fourth quarter.

Kirk Cousins went 15-for-21 for 174 yards and a score to Adam Thielen on the Vikings initial series of the game.

Thielen also scored on a handoff that gave the Vikings a 28-0 lead in the second quarter, their second 28-0 lead of the season.

Derek Carr went 27-for-34 for 242 and two touchdowns to J.J. Nelson and Tyrell Wililams. Tight end Darren Waller caught 13 passes for 134 yards in the loss.

NOTES: Marquel Lee hurt his ankle in the first quarter and did not return to the game. While Vontaze Burfict missed nearly half the game with an elbow injury, but eventually returned in the third quarter.

UP NEXT: The Raiders will stay on the road, as they will face the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Raiders start long road journey away from Oakland Sunday in Minnesota

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Photo credit: dailynorseman.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

After two AFC West divisional games to start the season at home, the Raiders get set for their first road test of the year as they prepare to face the NFC North’s Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. The Silver and Black are 9-5 all time against the Purple People Eaters, with each team winning two games apiece over their last four matchups.

In their last meeting, the Vikings took down the Raiders 30-14 on Nov. 15, 2015 at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland.

Kickoff is set for 10:00 a.m. PDT this Sunday at U.S. Bank Field, as the Raiders begin a 49-day stretch away from Oakland and the first of four games against the NFC North this season.

The Raiders (1-1) lost 28-10 to the visiting Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, after jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shredded Oakland’s defense in the second quarter, throwing 278 of his 443 yards and four touchdowns in the period that put the game out of reach.

With the win, Mahomes improved to 3-0 against Oakland and has now thrown for 10 touchdowns to just one interception in those three games.

History was made in the game for Oakland as quarterback Derek Carr surpassed Hall of Fame quarterback Ken Stabler for most passing yards in franchise history, as Carr threw for 198 yards in the game and now stands at 19,196 threw his first 80 games.

Wide receiver Tyrell Williams caught his second touchdown of the year, while tight end Darren Waller led the Raiders in receptions again for the second-straight week as he caught six balls for 63 yards.

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Waller joined Todd Christensen (1986) and Brandon Myers (2012) as the only tight ends in team history to record at least 50 yards receiving in the first two games of the season.

Defensively, the Raiders didn’t muster much of a pass rush against the Chiefs but Benson Mayowa had a day to remember, as he recorded 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Mayowa became the first Raiders player to record at least one sack and one forced fumble in each of the first two games of the season since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, while also becoming just the seventh defensive player league wide to do so since 2010 according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

After defeating the Atlanta Falcons 28-12 in Week 1 at home, the Vikings (1-1) lost on the road in Green Bay, 21-16 in Week 2 at Lambeau Field.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook rushed for a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries against the Packers. It was the second-straight game that the third-year pro from Florida State rushed for over 100 yards.

Through the first two games of the season, Cook is the NFL’s leading rusher with 265 yards.

Vikings signal-caller Kirk Cousins can play like he’s a top-10 NFL quarterback at times, making tough throws look routine to stud wideouts Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

Then there are times where Cousins will throw those head-scratching passes late in a game that’ll get intercepted, sealing a loss that makes you wonder, if he’s even worth the $84 million fully guaranteed the Vikings are paying him?

Minnesota has Super Bowl aspirations and the pressure is on Cousins to guide them to Miami (the site of Super Bowl LIV), this season.

After throwing just 10 times in the season opener against the Falcons, Cousins finished 14-of-32 with one touchdown and two interceptions against the Packers.

With a chance to throw a potential game-winning score for Minnesota late in the fourth quarter, Cousins was intercepted by Green Bay cornerback Kevin King in the end zone.

Didn’t I mention a few spaces before about those head-scratching throws from Cousins that’ll cost you a game?

But the ultimate strength of the Vikings is its defense, which has been among the NFL’s best during head coach Mike Zimmer’s six seasons in Minnesota. The Vikings can generate a strong pass rush from its edge rushers in Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen, which will give its strong secondary led by strong safety Harrison Smith and cornerback Xavier Rhodes opportunities to create turnovers.

Carr and the offense have to be on high alert for a tough Vikings team and one of the toughest venues in the NFL, U.S. Bank Stadium this Sunday.

Following Sunday’s game, the Raiders will travel to Indianapolis to battle the Colts in Week 4 before flying to London to take on the Chicago Bears in a “home game” in Week 5.

The Vikings will begin a two-game road trip when they take on the Bears in Week 4 followed by a trip to New York for a date with the Giants in Week 5.