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The New Orleans Saints fought hard and overcame a two-score deficit, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the San Francisco 49ers from inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. On fourth down with seconds remaining, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan found a way to get tight end George Kittle — his best receiving threat — wide-open in the flat for a long catch-and-run to put his team in scoring position. A few plays later and 49ers kicker Robbie Gould sent a chip-shot field goal through the uprights to win, 48-46.
It was a shocker by every measure. No one anticipated the score running so high in this matchup, with both teams trading big plays on offense and a few timely turnovers on defense. Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned in a vintage performance, completing 29 of 40 passes for 349 yards and five touchdown scores — that includes five completions on his seven final attempts in the two-minute drill.
Both defenses were perceived as elite units, but each team played on its heels for most of the game, particularly during the first half. While San Francisco drew more penalties (10) for more yardage (67) than New Orleans (5 for 50 yards), the Saints were hurt by a few dubious non-calls (including a blatant holding penalty on a Taysom Hill punt fake) and two drive-extending free first downs for the 49ers late in the fourth quarter. Saints coach Sean Payton has preached accountability and a need for cleaner play for weeks, but there’s not much to be done against judgment calls like those.
So where do the Saints stand now? They’re still one of four teams competing for a top-three playoffs seed in the NFC, along with this same 49ers squad (that group also includes the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers). New Orleans owns a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Seahawks, but they’ll have to finish strong in December to win a playoff bye. They won’t secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs without some help, adding further drama; not that we needed any.
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