Saints vs. 49ers: Holy Cow, What an Ending

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Just when it looked as if the game would become a slogfest, the Saints and Niners turned on their offensive machines.

Marques Colston turned his 13th catch of the day into a touchdown to put the Saints up, 24-23. The Niners came back with Alex Smith's 28-yard touchdown run up the left sideline. Jimmy Graham shook Donte Whitner at midfield for another go-ahead Saints TD, followed by a two-point conversion.

That gave the Saints a 32-29 lead with less than two minutes remaining. But the Niners came back with Vernon Davis, who caught a 47-yard pass that was mostly run after catch, then snagged a Smith pass on a post route for the final touchdown with nine seconds left.

The Saints, despite five turnovers, finally came through with their offensive weapons, with Graham, Colston and running back Darren Sproles all accounting for Brees passing TDs. Brees, as usual, had over 300 yards of passing offense.

But in the end, the day belonged to Smith and Davis, the outstanding 49ers tight end who was snubbed by the Pro Bowl. Davis had seven receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns. The second one rivaled The Catch by Dwight Clark against the Dallas Cowboys almost exactly 30 years ago.

Saints safety Roman Harper hit Davis at the goal line right when the ball arrived, but Davis surged forward into the end zone, putting the 49ers ahead for good.

The final frenzy of scoring capped a mainly defensive day that saw the 49ers leading 23-17 with 7:36 to go. Then suddenly it was passing time, with Brees and Smith matching each other down the stretch.

In the end, the Saints' explosive offense literally outdid itself, scoring its final go-ahead TD on just four plays. That gave the 49ers the ball back with a bit under two minutes to go.

And that was all they needed for their final come-from-behind score and a 36-32 win.

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