The New Orleans Saints made it a point to target Renardo Green on the first drive. Green gave up an 11 and a 39-yard pass. He should have scored a touchdown, had the ball not been dropped by Chris Olave. But the 49ers didn’t pay for it after the Saints missed a 40-yard field goal.
The San Francisco 49ers went three-and-out to open the game. On the ensuing drive, Robert Saleh used Ji’Ayir Brown on second down when he ran zone coverage at nickel. Then, on third down, they lined up Upton Stout in the slot
using man coverage. He won’t be able to get away with that for long, but it should help on early downs until Stout gets more comfortable running different zone coverages.
San Francisco answered with a 14-play drive that went 80 yards. Pass interference on 3rd & 7 by old friend Isaac Yiadom helped. Ricky Pearsall’s 15-yard reception on 3rd & 14 kept the drive alive. Jones scrambled for 13 yards on 2nd & 14 before an 11-yard play-action pass to Luke Farrell for the game’s first touchdown.
The 49ers would lose fullback Kyle Juszczyk and left guard Ben Bartch after this series.
After the defense forced a punt, the offense had a promising drive that eventually stalled. Eddy Pineiro, who missed his first extra point attempt, nailed a 44-yarder to make it 9-0.
An Upton Stout sack ended the next Saints drive. That was the rookie’s first in his NFL career, and likely won’t be the last. Then, San Francisco couldn’t answer after Jones ran into a sack on the following drive.
It looked as though the defense would get yet another stop when Mykel Williams made a tackle for loss. But Spencer Rattler squeezed in a 20-yard pass to Brandin Cooks with Marques Sigle in coverage. After picking up a couple of first downs, Rattler scrambled for a nine-yard gain in 3rd & 6 after ducking under the tackle of Dee Winters to keep the drive alive. Rattler capped off the drive with a perfect pass to Jawaun Johnson over Sigle for the Saints’ first score of the game, making it 9-7.
Mac Jones would have just over a minute left on the clock from the 23-yard line. On 3rd & 6, Jones elected for the third level route and hit Jauan Jennings for a 29-yard. On 3rd & 6, Kyle Shanahan designed a 1-on-1 scenario for Christian McCaffrey, and he won with ease to make it 16-7.
We were wondering how aggressive Shanahan would be with a backup quarterback, and Jones attempting 23 passes in the first half says it all. Jones took a couple of bad sacks, but he was in complete control. Despite some of his misses to Pearsall, it would be difficult to ask a backup to play better than Jones did, given the circumstances. Jones went 7-for-9 in the two-minute drill for 77 yards before the half.
Jones would take another brutal sack to begin the third quarter. Colton McKivitz was beaten, but the play had gone on long enough for Jones to get rid of the ball. That turnover gave New Orleans the ball on San Francisco’s 47-yard line. Rattler worked his magic on fourth down once again. This time, he made rookie Upton Stout miss in the backfield. It was the second time Rattler worked his magic in the open field, and the second time the Saints turned that into points. That gave the 49ers a 16-14 lead.
Quality teams answer scoring drives with points of their own. Passes to Pearsall and Kendrick Bourne put the 49ers in Saints territory. Shanahan elected to play it safe on 4th & 2, and Pineiro’s 46-yarder split the uprights to give San Francisco a 19-14 lead.
Would the 49ers’ defense get a stop? Dee Winters didn’t make it easy after a late hit out of bounds on Rattler. Chris Olave caught a 12-yard pass on the ensuing play. But Fred Warner made the most Fred Warner play you can think of. With Alvin Kamara worried about possessing the ball, Warner runs up and pokes the ball out with two hands, forcing a fumble when it looked like the Saints were destined to score. It was a game-changing play that felt like a clincher.
Kyle Shanahan answered with some of his best play-calling of the game. He used McCaffrey as a wide receiver on 3rd & 10. McCaffrey ran a deep comeback against a linebacker, winning that matchup easily. On 3rd & 11, Mac Jones found Jauan Jennings on a high-low concept for 42 yards to give San Francisco a 26-14 lead.
The 49ers’ rookies cost them on the next defensive series. They were undoubtedly questionable calls by the ref, but flags were thrown when the defense had an opportunity to get off the field. They did not, and that led to the Saints marching 13 plays for 71 yards in a drive that took six minutes off the clock.
At midfield, Jones threw it to Jennings on 3rd & 6, but he could not hold on. The offense punted it back to the Saints with 4:35 to play and a 5-point lead.
The defensive line picked an opportune time to pick up its first sack of the game. Mykel Williams bullied the left guard back into the pocket, and Nick Bosa cleaned up his mess to force a Saints punt.
San Francisco failed to pick up a first down after Jennings and Jones could not connect on third down. That meant the defense would need to hold once more. New Orleans would need to march 94 yards. Chase Lucas began the drive, but Upton Stout returned after a couple of plays.
Fred Warner broke up a pass on 3rd & 2 after running Johnson’s route for him. That meant the game would come down to 4th & 2. Bryce Huff was shot out of a cannon, causing a jumbled mess that ultimately won the game. So, in back to back weekNiners’ Niners defense caused a turnover to seal the game.
