It was like a slasher movie.
Two offenses going up and down the field gashing each other repeatedly
in one of those bloody games we get every so often. It was the game of the year in the NFL, which
doesn’t make me feel any better.
The hated (almost as much as the Falcons) San Francisco
49’ers traveled to the Louisiana Superdome determined to wrestle NFC home field
advantage away from the New Orleans Saints.
They pulled out all the stops and emptied their trick play book to take
a 48 – 46 victory.
Most would argue that the Saints made a strategic error,
when early in the game, capitalizing on a penalty on a touchdown, they tried a
two point conversion from the one yard line when Jared Cook’s 2nd
receiving touchdown made the score 13-7.
There were 2 unfortunate results.
Cook suffered a concussion on the play and did not return, and the play
call fooled nobody. The missed
conversion hung over this game like a blimp running out of gas.
I would argue that another error was just as costly. At the end of the 1st half, the
Saints were clinging to a 6 point lead, but the 49’ers were driving. They had a 1st and 13 on the
Saints 35. They gained 8, giving the
49’ers 2nd and 5 from the 28.
The Saints called a time out with 1:46 on the clock in the hopes of
getting the ball back. Why? Payton calls
these defensive time outs on a wing and a prayer all the time, and they
inevitably just take the clock pressure off the offense. He called another one at 1:31 on 3rd
and 1. Sean Payton is an incredible
coach, but there’s two things he does that I hate. Defensive Time-outs when the odd are against
you, and on offense lining up in an empty backfield on 2nd and
short. Unnecessary gambling. Anyway, the 49’ers scored to conclude a wild
first half of 8 touchdowns.
Going into this game I was thinking the Saints biggest
challenge would be stopping George Kittle, the league’s best tight end. The Saints chose to put rookie CJ
Gardner-Johnson on him, and he held his own until the 4th
quarter. I was also worried about the
Saints linebacker corps, with AJ Klein and Kiko Alonso out, replaced by Stephon
Anthony and Craig Robertson, and that slight speed differential was costly,
particularly in the track-meet first half.
San Francisco led 28-27 at the half.
In the league’s highest scoring game so far this year, the
two quarterbacks, Brees and Garoppolo were magnificent, both throwing for 349
yards. Brees threw for 5 touchdowns and
Michael Thomas had his usual terrific game.
With the Saints down 45-40 and needing a touchdown, the Saints got the
ball back with 2:23 left. He then came
up with one of his patented drives, ending in a 18 yard touchdown pass to
Tre’Quan Smith to take a 46-45 lead.
Unfortunately, the Saints had scored too quickly and there were 53
seconds left on the clock. With 3
timeouts left, the 49’ers drove, converting a 39 seconds-left 4th
and 2 for a mere 39 yard gain, with a 15 yard penalty tacked on. Robbie Gold kicked the winning field goal and
the Saints had another heartbreaker to put in their pocket.
The Saints fell to 10-3 with 3 games remaining, and are now
third in the NFC. The Saints playoff
positioning took a huge hit, but if they get healthy, there’s no reason to
panic. It probably means an extra game
in the playoffs. The worse news is that
there will inevitably be a trip or two to the west coast, and the skies have
not been too friendly to the Saints out thataway.
There were some positives.
Special teams were a difference maker for the Saints, as Deonte Harris
had a great return game. Of course, the
fake punt that backfired was a strange call.
Again, I liked the decision, but the red team was ready for the play
that was called. Latavius Murray averaged
10 yards a carry and Alvin Kamara averaged 2.
Defenses have caught up to Kamara and that swing pass has lost its
effectiveness. The same can’t be said
for Michael Thomas, who had another spectacular game, including his performance
on a 4th quarter drive that was almost all him. Nope, can’t fault the offense for this
one.
On the defensive side, the Saints continue to struggle at
corner with the PJ Williams/Eli Apple alliance having a tough time. Cornerback in the NFL is almost impossible to
play, and I’m sure it will be addressed in the off-season. Until then, avert your eyes when playing against
a good passer with two speedy receivers, and just hope the pass rush gets
home. The Saints have a history of
anointing quarterbacks into superstars.
Let’s hope that’s not what happened to Garoppolo.
Next up, an unexpectedly critical
Monday Night game against the Colts. Peyton
Manning and Andrew Luck are retired, right?
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