San Francisco 49ers vs Minnesota Vikings Prediction, 8/20/2022 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason Week 2

Game: San Francisco 49ers vs Minnesota Vikings

Date: Saturday, August 20, 2022

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN

TV: NFL League Pass

Odds/Point Spread: Vikings (-3)

Total/Over-Under: 39

The San Francisco 49ers (10-7 last year) are headed to U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday where they will compete against the Minnesota Vikings (8-9 last season). San Francisco opens this contest as 3-point underdogs. The total has been set at 39.

The San Francisco 49ers finished the season having earned a 10-7 mark. In their last game of last year, the 49ers faced off with the Rams and ended up losing by a score of 20-17. Jimmy Garoppolo connected on 16/30 with 232 yds through the air and 2 touchdowns. He had a quarterback rating of 87.1 and ended the game with 1 pick. Deebo Samuel held an average of 18.0 yds per catch by tallying 72 yds on 4 receptions. Elijah Mitchell was the rushing leader for the 49ers with 11 attempts for 20 yds (1.8 yds per carry). In all, they had 50 plays for 282 yds. The San Francisco 49ers rushed the ball a total of 20 different times and accounted for 50 yards, earning them an average of 2.5 yards per tote. In the running game, the 49ers conceded 70 yds on 29 attempts, which calculates to 2.4 yds per run allowed. San Francisco surrendered 31 pass completions on 45 tries for 326 yds, and a completion percentage of 68.9%.

The 49ers tallied 6,387 total yards for the prior season. San Francisco amassed 199 1st downs as a team, and they committed 102 infractions for 1066 yds. San Francisco compiled 26 touchdowns via the pass and 22 rushing touchdowns. They surrendered the ball 24 times (14 picks and 10 fumbles). As a team they averaged 127.4 yds on the ground, which ranked them 7th in the National Football League. Concerning getting in the endzone, the San Francisco 49ers were sitting at 25.1 points per game.

The 49ers ranked 9th in the National Football League regarding their opponents scoring, giving up 21.5 PPG. They allowed 4.0 yards per run and 103.5 yards on the ground per contest for the previous season. Overall, they conceded 1,760 rushing yards through 17 games. Regarding yards via the pass, the 49ers gave up 3,510 yards which had them ranked 6th in the NFL. During their 17 games played, they allowed 206.5 yards per contest via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 68.3%. They conceded 310.0 yards per game putting them at 3rd in football. They granted 25 touchdowns through the air in addition to 17 rushing touchdowns.

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The Vikings wrapped up their season having earned a 8-9 mark. The last time they took the field last season, the Vikings walked away with a victory by a final of 31-17 when they played the Bears. Kirk Cousins (3 touchdowns) ended the game with 250 yards on 14/22 passing while his QB rating was 142. He didn't toss any interceptions and his avg yards per attempt was 11.36 yds. Dalvin Cook ran the football 14 times for 79 yds, finishing the game with 5.6 yards per attempt for Minnesota. Justin Jefferson was a featured target for the Vikings, snagging 5 passes for 107 yds (21.4 yards per reception). Minnesota ran the ball for 4.7 yards per attempt, finishing the game with 104 yds on 22 carries. The Vikings finished the game with a total of 331 yds and they ran 47 plays (7.0 yds per play). The Vikings pass defense allowed a completion rate of 68.8%, surrendering 266 yds on 33 out of 48 passing. Minnesota surrendered 25 running attempts for 90 yards (3.6 yards per rush).

Concerning the points being put on the board, the Vikings ranked 14th in the NFL holding an average of 25.0 PPG. Over the course of last year, the Vikings had a total of 4,238 passing yards as well as averaging 249.3 throwing yards per outing, which was ranked 11th in football. They averaged 113.5 yards per game via the rush and ran for 1,930 yards for the season. The Minnesota Vikings averaged 362.8 yards per contest which had them sitting 12th in the NFL. The Minnesota offense racked up 1,043 yards of penalties on 111 violations, which had them ranked 9th in the league in terms of helping out the other team. They tossed 7 picks while letting opponents recover 6 fumbles and they obtained 202 first downs.

The Vikings allowed 25.1 PPG, which had them ranked 24th of all teams in the NFL. Minnesota conceded a total of 2,222 yards via the ground game (130.7 yards per contest) and 15 touchdowns on the ground over the course of last year. They allowed the opposition 29 touchdowns through the air in addition to 252.9 yards per contest, ranking them 28th out of all teams. The Vikings defense was on the field for 1,152 plays, which was good for 31st in the league. Over the course of the season, they allowed 426 points in total. They had 24 takeaways (8 fumbles recovered and 16 interceptions) in the previous season.

Who will win tonight's 49ers/Vikings NFL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the 49ers +3

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