49ers report card: Grading the thrilling win over the New Orleans Saints
The 49ers played a wild, high-scoring game Sunday in New Orleans. This time, after losing twice on last-second field goals, they won as Robbie Gould made a 30-yarder as time expired. San Francisco won, 48-46.
Here are our grades, as we catch our collective breath.
Passing offense: A
Jimmy Garoppolo responded to New Orleans’ opening touchdown drive by completing 4 of 5 throws for 81 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown to Kendrick Bourne, his team-leading fourth on the season. Garoppolo uncorked one of the longest throws of his career when he connected on a 75-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders on a double move, beating safety Marcus Williams. Garoppolo had 158 yards over his first three possessions. But it was Sanders who got San Francisco on the board next when he found running back Raheem Mostert for a 35-yard score on an end-around to cut the Saints lead to 27-21. It was the second touchdown pass of Sanders’ career. He had one with Denver last season. It also marked the first time in team history a 49ers receiver had a touchdown catch and touchdown pass in the same game, according to ESPN. Garoppolo found Bourne again early in the fourth quarter on an off-schedule play to give San Francisco a 42-33 lead. It came moments after defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was flagged for an illegal hit to the head of fullback Kyle Juszczyk on a third-down to extend San Francisco’s drive.
George Kittle made the play of the year, converting a fourth-down on the final drive, rumbling 39 yards and getting a facemasking penalty, putting the 49ers in range for the game-winning kick. Garoppolo finished with 349 yards on 26 of 35 completions.
Rushing offense: A
Matt Breida got his first carry in nearly a month late in the second quarter and took it 28 yards. Raheem Mostert gave the 49ers a 28-27 lead with 42 seconds left in the first half with a 10-yard score. San Francisco ran it just eight times in the first half but still racked up 87 yards. They finished with 160 yards on 22 carries, good for a 7.3-yard average. Tevin Coleman had just three carries for 6 yards, continuing his recent run where his playing time has been limited.
Passing defense: F
Safety Marcell Harris, replacing Jaquiski Tartt (rib fracture), missed two tackles on the opening series, including one on tight end Jared Cook’s 38-yard touchdown catch and run where he didn’t wrap up. Cook scored again on a blown coverage by rookie linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Harris was in coverage again on the touchdown to Josh Hill, the third straight by a tight end. Drew Brees completed 15 of 18 for 179 yards during the Saints four-straight scoring drives to open the game. The defense allowed the Saints to go ahead with a 76-yard scoring drive inside the final minute. Brees finished with 349 yards while completing 29 of 40. And receiver Michael Thomas had 134 yards on 11 receptions. Ahkello Witherspoon’s dropped interception just before Tre’Quan Smith’s 18-yard touchdown was massive, though Witherspoon was bailed out by the offense.
Rushing defense: B
Defensive end Nick Bosa made the first big play for San Francisco’s defense when he tackled backup quarterback Taysom Hill for a 6-yard loss, while getting held by tackle Ryan Ramczyk, to force New Orleans’ first punt of the day on a play that was ruled a run. It was a big momentum swing in the game. Another one came in the third quarter, two plays after Weston Richburg was carted off the field with right knee and ankle injuries, when nose tackle D.J. Jones stripped Alvin Kamara at the Saints’ 20-yard line leading to George Kittle’s go-ahead touchdown. The Saints had 116 yards on 27 carries.
Special teams: C
The 49ers allowed a 51-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard punt return to Deonte Thompson that gave the Saints great field position on consecutive series in the first quarter. Harris was flagged for holding on a punt late in the third quarter that led to a re-kick from Mitch Wishnowsky. The penalty proved to be worth 19 yards, giving the Saints another short field to work with, leading to a long field goal. Gould’s kick at the end made this a passing grade.
Coaching: B
Kyle Shanahan got creative offensively, dialing up the touchdown pass from Sanders a read-option pitch from Juszczyk that set up a touchdown. The 49ers offensive was cooking with gas early with 319 blistering yards in the first half as the team averaged over 14 yards per play. It finished with 516. Defensively, San Francisco struggled as many teams do against Brees with Sean Payton pulling the strings. New Orleans put up the most yards, with 465, San Francisco has allowed all season. The previous high was 357 against the Cardinals on Halloween.
The 49ers finished 2-1 in their gauntlet of three straight playoff teams, the Packers, Ravens and Saints. That’s as good as the team could ask for.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 1:31 PM.
