DE Dee Ford

Injuries may limit Ford to getting most of his action on third downs, but getting off the field in those situations is essential against an offense as talented as New Orleans’. It looked like Ford may not play again this week while he dealt with a hamstring injury, but his return gives the 49ers’ defensive line another weapon to make Brees uncomfortable. Ford is also very good at generating turnovers when he gets to the quarterback, and any turnover Sunday could be the difference against two very evenly-matched teams.