Saints vs. 49ers: Who Needs Wide Receivers When You've Got Vernon Davis?

Michael Crabtree ended a drive with a dropped pass. Both Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn were called for offensive pass interference penalties, as the 49ers wide receivers struggled a great deal. 

Not only this, they couldn't get open against what has been a relatively weak New Orleans secondary. Have no fear, Vernon Davis is here. The former first-round pick came up big time when it counted the most in the final minutes of the 49ers stunning victory of the New Orleans Saints this afternoon. 

When Alex Smith needed a go-to guy, he found No. 85 all over the field. He found him in the seem, on the outside and right on the left hash. The last of those passes ended up going for six and pushing the 49ers to their first playoff victory since 2002. 

A lot of people questioned the 49ers when they selected Vernon Davis No. 6 overall in 2006. Why draft a tight end in the top 10 when you have so many other needs? Well, today's game answered that question in a big way. 

Not only did Vernon Davis come up with some huge catches, he put a major block on a Saints defender to spring Frank Gore for a long run. This play helped the 49ers gain the momentum that they had lost over the course of the previous two quarters. 

We saw Jim Harbaugh lineup Vernon Davis on the outside a great deal this evening as well. Areas of the field that are usually reserved for wide receivers. In that, Davis came up with huge play after huge play. 

There is no doubt that the 49ers receiving corp lacks the necessary talent to compete with other teams in the 2011 NFL Playoffs. However, the play of Vernon Davis makes up or masks those issues a great deal. He went up against Roman Harper, Patrick Robinson and Malcolm Jenkins a great deal today. The majority of the time the star tight end came up big time. 

Then came the 49ers final drive of the game following what seemed to be a game-clinching touchdown catch by fellow tight end Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints. Davis went to the outside and hauled in a 47-yard pass on a huge second down. Three plays later Davis pulled a Terrell Owens, catching the game winning pass with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game.

In the matter of two plays, Vernon Davis went down in the history books as a big time San Francisco 49ers playoff performer. Right up there with the likes of Joe Montana, John Taylor and Jerry Rice. 

Simply amazing!