As a result, they hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round of the 2015–16 NFL playoffs, but lost 10–9 after kicker Blair Walsh missed a potential game-winning 27-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Minnesota QB Teddy Bridgewater was unable to complete a single pass on the next drive, forcing Blair Walsh to attempt a 44-yard field goal; however, he pushed it wide right.

The next drive saw the Vikings attempt to convert on 4th-and-3, but Bridgewater's completed pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph fell a yard short of a fresh set of downs.

Both sides exchanged punts at the start of the second quarter, with the 49ers eventually returning one 85 yards for a touchdown, only for it to be called back for an illegal block by a San Francisco player.

However, the ensuing possession ended with a 49ers touchdown, as they drove 93 yards in just under 5 minutes, before Carlos Hyde finished the series with a 10-yard touchdown run; after finding nowhere to go on his initial run to the right, he beat a Minnesota defender with a spin move and ran back to the left side of the field, where quarterback Colin Kaepernick led him into the end zone.

The 49ers then extended their lead on the ensuing possession, driving 73 yards to the Minnesota 11-yard line to set up a 30-yard field goal attempt for Dawson.

The Vikings finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter, as Walsh finished off a 66-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal, but the 49ers pulled further ahead with a second touchdown for Hyde on a 17-yard run.

Bridgewater attempted to spark the Vikings back into the game, but a deep pass intended for Rudolph was intercepted by Tramaine Brock, setting up a 25-yard field goal for Dawson.

It was Peterson's seventh Pro Bowl selection, tying him for the fourth-most in Vikings franchise history with offensive tackle Ron Yary.

[36] After Houston Texans DE J. J. Watt suffered an injury in the wildcard round game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was called up to replace him, his first career Pro Bowl selection.

[37] Griffen was followed by a fellow first-time Pro Bowler, safety Harrison Smith, on January 25, after Earl Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks was ruled out of the game due to injury.