New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers: Final Thoughts

The 1-0 New Orleans Saints travelled to San Francisco for their first away game of the season, and in what was a very close game that featured a lot of defense, New Orleans managed to pull out a 25-22 victory in one of the hardest fought games of this young NFL season to date. The Saints passing game never really took off against the 49ers thanks to Mother Nature (the wind) and a strong 49ers defense, so with the Saints unable to make this game a blowout, they had to fight a hard-fought battle against a pretty good team.

Scoring Summary

The Saints defense got the first score of the game after the 49ers fumbled out of bounds in the end zone for a safety giving the Saints a two point lead. Still in the first quarter, the Saints would add a touchdown after quarterback Drew Brees fired a six yard touchdown pass to running back Reggie Bush to make it 9-0 still in the first quarter.

The 49ers came back and made it 9-7 after quarterback Alex Smith tossed a 12 yard touchdown pass to running back Frank Gore in the second quarter. That was the last score of the half, as the Saints headed into the locker room with a 9-7 lead.

The 49ers took the lead in the third quarter after Anthony Dixon ran into the end zone from two yards out to make it 14-9 in the third quarter. The Saints went up 16-14 after Brees hit David Thomas on a three yard pass.  

In the fourth quarter, the Saints added a 46 yard field goal by kicker Garrett Hartley to increase their lead to 19-14. They went up 22-14 after Hartley booted another field goal (this one 19 yards).

The 49ers didn't go down easy, however, and they pulled to within one after running back Frank Gore burst into the end zone on a seven yard touchdown run to tie it up at 22-22 (the two point conversion was good) late in the fourth. The Saints sealed their win with a 37 yard Hartley field goal to put the score at 25-22. That was the game’s final score.

Stud of the Game

This game was won in the trenches, so you have to credit the Saints offensive line for helping keep some of the pass pressure to a minimum and allowing the Saints to move the ball as much as they possibly could. The 49ers defense was tough, but the offensive line made the plays when it mattered and helped them win the game.

Dud of the Game

The Saints run defense allowed Gore to rush for over 100 yards and a score on Monday night. In two games, they have allowed two running backs to control the ball and the clock. They have to come up with a way to stop offenses from doing the same thing to them in the future. Let’s see how well they can perform the rest of this season.

Analysis

What’s wrong with the Saint’s passing game? Remember last year when the Saints could strike anywhere on the field at any time with their passing game? That appears to have changed a little bit now. There isn’t anything wrong with Drew Brees or the Saints wide receivers, so it must have something to do with the play calling.

Now that Bush is going to be out for six weeks with a broken leg, the Saints are going to have to hope that someone steps up to fill his shoes and become the kind of playmaker that he was. While it may not seem, to some, that Bush was that vital of a part of the offense, he was indeed a big part of it and his presence will be missed.

As we discussed before, the Saints need to do some work on their run defense, especially now that it appears as if their passing game may not have the quick strike ability that it once had. The defense needs to get the ball back (for the offense) as quickly as possible so that the offense can work its magic and win games.

Next Up

The Saints will host the 1-1 Atlanta Falcons in a division rivalry game this Sunday afternoon at the Superdome. Stay tuned for a full preview of that game coming up this weekend.