George Kittle’s fourth-down rumble gives 49ers epic win in New Orleans
There aren’t better games in early December than the one played Sunday between the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.
The stakes were as high as they come and the quality of play matched. There were four lead changes in the second half, including two inside the final minute. It was the best game in the NFL this season.
“That was as cool a game as I had been a part of,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Both teams had outstanding performances on offense behind strong play from their quarterbacks. There were 981 total yards and 10 touchdown passes combined, including one from a receiver.
Yet the 49ers escaped New Orleans, and the thunderous Mercedes-Benz Superdome, with a 48-46 victory that could ultimately define their season, particularly if it leads to getting a first-round bye and home field in the playoffs.
49ers win brings back memories
It was similar to another epic contest between the two teams.
“Honestly, it kind of reminded me of the playoff game back in Candlestick (Park),” left tackle Joe Staley said, referencing the Divisional Round bout after the 2011 season, a 49ers win, 36-32.
“(It was) a little familiar, back and forth the whole entire time. It was kind of eerie how they scored late and we still had the time to come down and get some points.”
That game, of course, culminated in a huge play from a tight end. Vernon Davis caught a touchdown pass from Alex Smith that gave San Francisco a last-minute victory after a Drew Brees touchdown to Jimmy Graham.
Sunday’s result was also defined by a play from a tight end.
George Kittle got the 49ers in range with a catch and run on fourth-and-2 from their own 33 with 39 seconds left. He carried defensive back Marcus Williams nearly 20 yards down the sideline, requiring a glaring facemask penalty to get him to the ground with the help of two other teammates.
“Our tight end coach (Jon Embree) always says, don’t get let one guy tackle you,” Kittle said. “That’s my mindset, just try to run through him, try to carry him as far as I can.”
Added Jimmy Garoppolo: “I knew the (defender) was in a bad situation out there. (George) is a beast with the ball in his hands.”
The penalty meant the play gave San Francisco 53 yards. It set up Robbie Gould to hit the game-winning 30-yard field goal as time expired.
Kittle critical to team’s success
Said Emmanuel Sanders: “I knew George is going to take off at some point. And in those clutch moments, he took off for us.”
The play embodied Kittle’s value to the team. He’s been Garoppolo’s most reliable target in crucial situations. His unwillingness to go down, or even step out of bounds while time was at a premium inside the final minute, was an example the toughness he plays with.
“Everyone knows how good of a player he is,” Shanahan said of his tight end, who had six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. “But when one of your best players has the mentality he has, that changes everything.”
“The mentality of your offense, how tough a team you are, has to do with your skill positions,” Shanahan continued. “And I think our skill guys, with Deebo (Samuel) and (Kendrick) Bourne, and Emmanuel, they’ve been playing very physically. Kittle’s as physical a tight end as there is in this league.”
The 49ers needed all their physical and mental toughness. The Superdome was as loud as advertised and the Saints put together their strongest showing in weeks, particularly against San Francisco’s defense that ranked first in the NFL allowing just 251 yards per game.
The Saints eclipsed that total in the first half. Brees (29 of 40, 349 yards, five touchdown passes) led four-straight touchdown drives while the 49ers defense was out of sorts.
‘Thank goodness for our offense’
“Thank goodness for our offense,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “Thank goodness for Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Kyle Shanahan, the entire offense.”
Garoppolo completed 26 of 35 for 349 yards and four touchdown passes, tying his career high he’s matched two other times this season. Sanders had his biggest came since coming to San Francisco, recording seven catches for 157 yards and a 75-yard touchdown.
Additionally, Sanders threw a 35-yard touchdown pass as he was falling down to Raheem Mostert in the second quarter. It was part of a run of three-straight touchdown drives from the offense that was clicking throughout. Mostert had the first multiple-touchdown performance of his career.
The 49ers had 516 yards of offense, marking the first time they’ve gone over 500 yards twice in a season since 1999. What’s more, both those games this season came after spending a week practicing away from home between far-away road games. San Francisco spent the week practicing at IMG Academy in Florida and took flew to New Orleans on Saturday. The flight took just over an hour.
“I think it definitely helps with the fast start,” Garoppolo said. “Traveling from the West Coast, traveling out here for a 12 o’clock game would be tough. But I think the coaches, staff, everybody making that decision to stay in Florida, I thought it was a great thing for us.”
The game started by the 49ers and Saints trading touchdown drives. The 49ers scored on four of their first five series. The Saints opened the game with four straight scoring possessions.
But the 49ers still went into the break with the lead thanks to Mostert’s 10-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.
The 49ers offense was downright remarkable in the first half.
It averaged 14.5 yards per play. Garoppolo completed 11 of 12 for 206 yards and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Saints had an impressive first half as well, racking up 262 yards (San Francisco came into the game allowing a league-leading 251 yards per game).
Bosa makes key defensive stop
Nick Bosa’s third-down tackle for loss of Hill in the second quarter wound up providing a big momentum shift. It forced the first punt from New Orleans and led to back-to-back scoring drives for the as they took the lead.
Garoppolo on the first series of the third quarter threw his first interception since Nov. 17 against the Cardinals. His two-game interception-less streak was his longest of the year.
San Francisco lost high-priced center Weston Richburg with a right leg injury early in the third quarter. Two plays later, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner recovered an Alvin Kamara fumble forced by defensive tackle D.J. Jones that led to Kittle’s 5-yard touchdown catch, his fourth of the year.
The 49ers held a 42-33 lead in the fourth quarter, but it took the Saints just 2:53 to make it 42-40 on Michael Thomas’ seventh touchdown of the season. It came from 21 yards out two plays after Thomas recorded a 49-yard catch and run.
The Saints go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter came as the 49ers lost Richard Sherman after he hobbled off the field with a hamstring injury.
The win pushes San Francisco to 11-2 and gives them an extremely valuable tiebreaker over New Orleans, which they also gained against Green Bay with their home victory two weeks ago. Up next is a contest against the Atlanta Falcons, who beat the struggling Panthers Sunday, 40-20.
It could be the team’s playoff destiny comes down to the Week 17 game against the Seahawks on the road. As things currently stand, the 49ers would be the top seed in the conference as they long as they hold off Seattle to win the division.
“Everybody loves to talk about that each week,” Shanahan said. “And it’d be more fun to talk about if everyone else had bad records, but there’s a lot of teams that have good records. It’s just one week at a time. If you start to feel good about yourself, it’s going to be over for you fast. If you count yourself out, then you’re not going to give yourself a chance because it’s going to come down to the last week.”
