4th quarter pressure on Colin Kaepernick from the Saints was crucial in their comeback victory.
I sure hope you’ve caught your breath by now, because I sure haven’t. The New Orleans Saints had one of their guttiest performances not only from this season, but within the last few years. After controlling the first half, it took a 4th quarter comeback from a six point deficit to squeak out a victory against the San Francisco 49ers. The win improves the Saints to 8-2 on the season, still one game behind Seattle for the best record in the NFC. The 49ers now fall to 6-4, three and a half games back in the NFC West.
The game started slow, with five straight punts to open the contest. On the Saints’ third possession, they not only opened the scoring, but they did so on an 11 play, 97 yard drive that was capped off with a 3 yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Josh Hill. The score didn’t come until under a minute left to go in the first quarter.
Following the first quarter, the mistakes started to pile up for the Saints. They forced a quick three and out following the touchdown, but Lance Moore muffed the 49ers punt and San Francisco recovered at the New Orleans 11 yard line. It only took two plays for them to find the end zone, as Anquan Boldin reeled in an 11 yard touchdown as part of a very productive day.
On the following a three and out from the Saints, Colin Kaepernick threw what looked to be an interception returned for a touchdown by Corey White. Fortunately for Kaepernick, after a 44 yard return by White, he lost control of the ball as he was trying to stretch out for the goal line. The ball went through the back of the end zone and it was ruled a touchback, giving possession back to San Francisco at their own 20 yard line. The 49ers took advantage of the second Saints miscue and Phil Dawson drilled a 55 yard field goal to give them a 10-7 lead over New Orleans. On the ensuing kickoff, Travaris Cadet answered with a huge 82 yard return on the kickoff, setting the Saints up with great field position to retake the lead. It only took three plays for Jed Collins to bull his way in to the end zone from a yard out, giving New Orleans the 14-10 advantage at the break.
The Saints opened the second half with the ball, but made their third mistake of the day, setting up the 49ers with great field position once again. On a third and short, Brees had what felt like an eternity to throw, but as he tried to float the ball to Jimmy Graham, linebacker Ahmad Brooks made a fantastic play to come up with an interception. The turnover was the only official giveaway for the Saints, although it essentially was the 3rd time they gave the ball to the 49ers. San Francisco started at the New Orleans 22 yard line and cashed in to retake the lead on a 17 yard touchdown pass from Kaepernick to Vernon Davis. The play was the longest passing play that the 49ers had all day.
Now facing a 17-14 deficit, the Saints took over and marched down to the San Francisco 40 yard line, but turned the ball over on downs when attempting to convert on 4th and 4. That was the fourth mistake, setting the 49ers up with great field position for the third time in the game. Again, San Francisco took advantage, adding to their lead with Dawson’s second field goal of the day from 29 yards out. The field goal also gave the 49ers 20 points, the highest total allowed by the Saints in the Superdome this year.
On the next drive, New Orleans took over and put together a very nice 9 play, 77 yard drive, getting down inside of the San Francisco five yard line. They got themselves in to a first and goal from the 6, but Pierre Thomas was stuffed on a 3rd and goal rushing attempt from the 3, forcing the Saints to settle for a short field goal, rather than taking the lead.
The Saints defense once again made a huge stop, forcing the 49ers to a quick three and out. If fans’ nerves weren’t shaken by this point in the game, the ensuing drive took care of that. After six plays that got the Saints down to the 49ers’ 35 yard line, facing a 3rd and 2, Ahmad Brooks looked to have come up with his second game-changing play of the day when he sacked Drew Brees and forced a fumble that was recovered by San Francisco around mid-field. Unfortunately for him, he was called for an unnecessary roughness for hitting Brees around his neck. It was certainly a bang-bang call, but most quarterbacks, especially someone like Brees, are going to get that call nine times out of ten. It was such a vicious hit that Brees was shown afterwards bleeding from his mouth. On the following play, Brees found Marques Colston for 16 yards, getting New Orleans down to the 14 yard line and it looked like the Saints may have been poised to punch in a touchdown to take the lead. The next play, rather, was another mistake by Brees as he threw the ball away from inside the pocket, getting called for intentional grounding. New Orleans was only able to gain three yards on the next two plays, setting up a 42 yard field goal attempt from Garrett Hartley to tie the game.
Before we get to the result, I want to point out one of the small things that makes Sean Payton one of the best coaches in the NFL. On the Saints’ third down play, they ran the ball, which kept the clock moving just outside of the two minute warning. Payton called a timeout with 2:11 left on the clock for two reasons. First, if Hartley was to miss the field goal, it would save a couple seconds when the 49ers began to try and run the clock out. Second, and what I believe was the most important, he called the timeout to lessen the time Hartley would have to think about the field goal, which had the game riding on it. If the clock had gone to the two-minute warning, the commercial break would have been much longer, which would be worse for Hartley, who’s clearly battled with mental confidence throughout the years. It’s microscopic intangible that will never be seen in the box score, but it just goes to show how well Coach Payton knows his players.
Now, with the game on the line, Hartley drilled the 42 yard field goal, tying the game at 20 with 2:06 left to go. At that point, most people, including myself, were simply hoping for the Saints defense to keep the 49ers from getting in to field goal range and then try and win it in overtime. The coaches and players were thinking differently and it all started with a Junior Galette sack on first down for a loss of nine. On 2nd and 19, Kaepernick just missed being called for an intentional grounding when he threw the ball away from near the goal line, under heavy pressure yet again. On the 3rd and long, the Saints did a fantastic job in coverage, forcing Kaepernick to scramble out of bounds for 16 yards, short of the first down. The key words in that last sentence are…OUT OF BOUNDS. Clearly not thinking, the quarterback chose not to fall down in the field of play, which would’ve forced the Saints to use their final timeout. San Francisco would then have to punt the ball away, giving New Orleans the opportunity to win the game in regulation.
49ers punter Andy Lee provided yet another fantastic punt, forcing a Darren Sproles fair catch at the Saints’ 25 yard line, but Kassim Osgood tackled Sproles after he caught the punt, giving the Saints a free 15 yards on the personal foul. Starting at the 40 yard line with 1:41 left to go and one timeout remaining, Drew Brees went to work. It only took five plays for the Saints to get down to the 49ers 13 yard line, where New Orleans would call their final timeout with :03 left on the clock. Hartley came on for a 31 yard field goal attempt to win the game and drilled it. After a rough past couple of weeks for the kicker, his three field goals in the fourth quarter were as clutch as the Saints could have asked for. He cut the lead down to three, tied the game, then won it, reminding Saints fans of why he’s still wearing black and gold.
Notes
– The Saints held the 49ers running backs to 2.9 yards per carry. Including Kaepernick’s three scrambles for 25 yards, they still held them to 3.7 yards per carry, well under their league worst average of 5.0.
– The 49ers did a fantastic job of covering up the Saints’ bread and butter plays. They were well prepared every time the Saints attempted to run a screen or a play action pass to the flat.
– The defensive line played a fantastic game. Not only did they clog up the middle on running plays, but Akiem Hicks and Cam Jordan created disruption in their pass protection all day.
– Facing one of the best run defenses in the NFL, New Orleans was able to stay well balanced an average 4.0 yards per carry.
– Jimmy Graham was on the field much more than last week, despite his small production of 6 catches for 56 yards.
Stats
Saints
Drew Brees – 30-43 / 305 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT
Pierre Thomas – 11 carries / 49 yards / 5 receptions / 35 yards
Mark Ingram – 6 carries / 25 yards / 1 reception / 4 yards
Marques Colston – 5 receptions / 80 yards
Robert Meachem – 2 receptions / 78 yards
Jimmy Graham – 6 receptions / 35 yards
Josh Hill – 1 reception / 3 yards / 1 TD
Akiem Hicks – 7 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
David Hawthorne – 8 tackles (team lead)
Corey White – 2 tackles / 1 pass defended / 1 INT
Cam Jordan – 2 tackles / 1 sack / 2 passes defended
Junior Galette – 2 tackles / 1 sack
49ers
Colin Kaepernick – 17-31 / 127 yards / 2 TD / 1 INT / 3 carries / 25 yards
Frank Gore – 13 carries / 48 yards
Anquan Boldin – 6 receptions / 56 yards / 1 TD
Vernon Davis – 4 receptions / 33 yards / 1 TD
Navorro Bowman – 14 tackles / 1 tackle for loss
Who Dat?!
