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It wasn’t pretty, but the #49ers got the dub.
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It wasn’t pretty, but the 49ers left Levi’s Stadium on Sunday with a 13-0 win over the New Orleans Saints.
San Francisco hasn’t allowed points in the second half since Week 7, and they’ve now gone six consecutive quarters without allowing a point. They needed some help with a pair of goal line stands, but their defense continues playing at a championship level.
Here are our thoughts and notes from the 49ers’ seventh win of the year:
The 49ers needed to be perfect to swing an upset in New Orleans. They weren’t in a 27-13 loss. Here are our observations from throughout Sunday’s game:
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The 49ers needed to be perfect to swing an upset in New Orleans. They weren’t in a 27-13 loss.
Here are our observations from throughout Sunday’s game:
The San Francisco 49ers couldn’t get anything right after a hot start vs. the New Orleans Saints.
The 49ers couldn’t quite get it right Sunday in New Orleans. They acquitted themselves well against a Super Bowl contender, but turnovers and penalties kept them from getting over the hump and swinging an upset.
The San Francisco 49ers went up early on the New Orleans Saints with Brandon Aiyuk’s third touchdown catch of the year.
Welcome back @THE2ERA❗️
📺 #SFvsNO on FOX pic.twitter.com/Qkl8wfklr6
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 15, 2020
The 49ers opened their game in New Orleans with an impressive 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate more than seven minutes off the clock. Brandon Aiyuk starred on the series with three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. The score was maybe his easiest of the year thanks to a strong design from head coach Kyle Shanahan. That was his third receiving touchdown of the year.
The 49ers had a miscommunication that nearly led to their demise in New Orleans.
A lot of things went the 49ers’ way in Sunday’s win over the Saints. One thing nearly went against them though in catastrophic fashion.
After a third-and-2 incompletion to George Kittle, head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a miscommunication with the ensuing play call. The noise in a raucous Superdome caused Garoppolo to mishear the play and relay the wrong one to his offense.
Shanahan on Monday told reporters the typically rambunctious crowd was even louder than normal.
“The thing that impressed me the most was just how he handled the noise,” Shanahan said of his quarterback. “I’ve been in that stadium a lot, but it was louder than usual to me. You never can hear at the line, but it was very hard for him to hear in the huddle.”
Shanahan said the noise was the reason he asked for a timeout after the third-and-2 misfire to Kittle. He asked for play No. 14 on Garoppolo’s wristband, but the quarterback heard a play with No. 15. The result could’ve been disaster that ended the 49ers’ final drive.
“That’s why we had to call the timeout on that fourth-and-two, because I called a play that had 14 in it, but it sounded a heck of a lot like 15,” the head coach said. “Four and five, you know, and you just couldn’t hear it. That stuff was happening a lot and for him to just still keep his poise and try to fix things a lot in the game, he kept our guys pretty cool throughout the whole time.”
The differences in the plays could’ve been the difference between a win and loss for the 49ers. Shanahan explained Nos. 14 and 15 are different enough that he noticed something was amiss when the offense initially lined up for the play.
“Yes. I didn’t know what he had missed because I didn’t know exactly what 15 looked like at the time, but I knew it didn’t look like 14 when they lined up,” Shanahan said. “Fortunately, we had a timeout and we did it and fortunately the next play was a good play.”
The next play Garoppolo hit Kittle on a quick out that the tight end turned upfield for a 39-yard gain. A facemask penalty put the 49ers at the Saints’ 14-yard-line. They kicked a game-winning 30-yard field goal three plays later.
San Francisco handled the noise well, but it nearly came back to bite them. The good news is the win put the 49ers in a good spot to clinch home-field advantage. If they secure that, they won’t go back to the Superdome for the playoffs. Avoiding that noise in a postseason game could mean avoiding a game-deciding communication blunder.
The 49ers got some good and some bad showings in their win that put them back atop the NFC playoff picture.
The 49ers on Sunday pulled out their best win of the season to move to 11-2 and regain their spot atop the NFC. The wild, back-and-forth contest had its share of good and bad showings from the winning side. While the generally stout defense faltered, the up-and-down offense had a game full of ups to help guide San Francisco to a win.
Here is some of the good and some of the bad from the 49ers’ electric victory:
Garoppolo is building a fine resumé as an NFL starter, but Sunday was his best performance yet. He completed 26 of 35 throws for 349 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. That was good for a 131.7 quarterback rating. Garoppolo went blow-for-blow with Drew Brees in the Superdome, and helped orchestrate a comeback from a 13-point first-half deficit. The 49ers needed their franchise signal caller’s best, and he gave it to them.
The 49ers and Saints game was so exciting it caught the attention of one NBA superstar.
The 49ers-Saints 48-46 thriller in New Orleans was crazy enough to draw the attention of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
James took to Twitter shortly after Robbie Gould drilled a 30-yard field goal to secure the win for San Francisco to dub the Week 14 NFC bout the “best game of the year.”
Wow!! Ball game. What A Game! Best game of the year thus far! #49ersvsSaints
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 8, 2019
It’s hard to argue with James. The teams combined for 94 points and 981 yards of total offense, and two lead changes in the final minute.
San Francisco has now played in three of the best games of the year. Before Sunday there was their Week 13 loss on a last second field goal by the Ravens. Then there was their Week 10 loss on a last second overtime field goal by the Seahawks.
The 49ers are playing some of the best football they’ve played this decade, and that was on full display Sunday in New Orleans. James put the “thus far” caveat on his tweet, but it’s difficult to imagine a game surpassing that one.
The 49ers had one of the most brutal three-game stretches ever between Weeks 12 and 14. They passed the three tests with flying colors.
The 49ers had, by opponent record, the toughest three-game stretch in NFL history between Weeks 12 and 14. It was a set of games that was going to make or break San Francisco’s spot as a Super Bowl contender. They won two of the three thanks to a 48-46 come-from-behind victory Sunday against the Saints.
San Francisco’s schedule through 11 weeks wasn’t particularly impressive, although they were dominating much of it. Now there’s no more excuses for not putting the 49ers on the short list of Super Bowl contenders.
They trounced the Packers 37-8 at Levi’s Stadium. They hung around with the red-hot Ravens until a last-second, game-winning 49-yard field goal sealed the victory for Baltimore. Then Sunday they went to New Orleans and went blow for blow with the Saints and came out on top in the Superdome against the team that was supposed to be better.
Winning one of the three would’ve had the 49ers in position to take the NFC West and win the NFC’s No.1 seed. Instead, they won two and proved they can hang with any team, and win a close one on the road against an elite team.
If the 49ers hadn’t convinced people of their legitimacy prior to this three-game stretch, they’ve certainly done it with two wins in the most difficult three-game run in NFL history.
Emmanuel Sanders carved out a unique place in 49ers history with his touchdown pass and reception Sunday.
Emmanuel Sanders entered the 49ers record books with a relatively obscure, albeit all-around productive, stat line in the team’s 48-46 win over the Saints.
He had seven catches for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also completed a pass for 35 yards and a touchdown. With his 35-yard toss to Raheem Mostert in the second quarter, he became the first player in 49ers history with a passing and receiving touchdown in the same game.
Get you somebody who can do both 👏@ESanders_10 | #DualThreatE
(Stats per @ESPNStatsInfo) pic.twitter.com/o4YTPpEGVG
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 9, 2019
Jerry Rice came close to achieving this feat in 1995. He threw a touchdown pass in Week 17 against Atlanta to go along with 12 catches for 153 yards. He didn’t find the end zone as a receiver though.
According to Pro Football Reference, Sanders’ TD throw was the eighth by a non-quarterback in 49ers history, and the first since Terry Kirby did it in 1998. Kirby also did it in 1996, the year after Rice’s TD toss in 1995.
Harry Sydney did it in 1987, Doug Cunningham in 1969, Mike Lind in 1964 and Joe Perry in 1951 complete the list of non-quarterback TD passes by 49ers. None of them added a receiving score like Sanders did though.
Sanders’ receiving touchdown came on the series before his touchdown pass. He hauled in a 75-yard bomb from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Sanders has been a difference-maker for the 49ers’ receiving corps. Sunday he got to show off a more versatile skill set and entered a unique space in 49ers history.
George Kittle carried three Saints defenders on his long catch-and-run vs. the Saints.
George Kittle’s career has been defined by his ability to turn his runs after catch look like a big brother wrestling with his younger siblings. He regularly drags and runs over tacklers while picking up extra yards.
That ability helped put the 49ers in range for a game-winning field goal Sunday in New Orleans. In fact, there’s not a better encapsulation of what Kittle does to NFL defenses than this screenshot from the highlight of his run:
This is the quintessential George Kittle screenshot. pic.twitter.com/zYORAKcaqG
— Kyle Madson (@KyleAMadson) December 8, 2019
Safety Marcus Williams was there first. He’s invisible behind Kittle in that photo. Williams was flagged for a face mask on the play.
Safety Vonn Bell gave it a try to no avail. He might’ve been trying to strip the ball out, but wound up going for a ride instead.
Had cornerback CJ Gardner-Johnson not gotten involved, Kittle might’ve dragged the two defensive backs all the way to the end zone. Gardner-Johnson had to finally leap onto Kittle’s back though, which is what we see in this screenshot. He rode Kittle for a couple yards before the big tight end finally went down under the weight of three tacklers.
There have been a ton of remarkable plays in Kittle’s career. His run Sunday in New Orleans might’ve been the best.
