Heavy underdogs heading into the matchup, the Minnesota Vikings got a win they desperately needed by defeating the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.
For the second week in a row, no Justin Jefferson was no problem for the Minnesota Vikings as they got another win without their superstar wide reciever on the field. This time, the Vikings pulled off an impressive win against the San Francisco 49ers.
Entering the matchup with a 2-4 record, Minnesota needed to leave U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night with a win in order to get their season back on track. And thanks to a total team effort on both sides of the ball, that's exactly what the Vikings were able to do, as they held on to hand the heavily favored 49ers a 22-17 loss.
With the victory, Minnesota improves their record to 3-4 and they've now won three of their last four games after starting the 2023 season 0-3.
Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins could not be stopped on Monday night vs. the San Francisco 49ers
After the Vikings' first offensive drive of the night ended with an interception, most thought it was just going to be another one of those forgettable nights for Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins in front of a primetime audience.
Instead, Cousins responded with a monster performance, throwing for 378 yards and two touchdowns, which resulted in a 107.2 passer rating for the veteran signal-caller.
Both of Cousins' two touchdown passes on Monday night were thrown to Vikings rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison (the second one was amazing). Addison now has six touchdown catches this season, which is tied for the second-most in the NFL this year behind only Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, who has seven.
In addition to Minnesota's offense lighting up San Francisco for 452 yards, the Vikings' defense also came up huge during the win on Monday.
Just as it seemed like the 49ers were going to climb back into the matchup, Minnesota's defense was able to force multiple key turnovers. The Vikings came up with three turnovers in the contest, including two pivotal interceptions by safety Cam Bynum in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota will have a little time to enjoy this victory, but then it's quickly back to work as they will look to improve their record to 4-4 when they travel to take on the rival Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field next Sunday.