With their precise and splashy victory over the Brady Bucs in the rear view mirror, the Saints plodded their way through a mistake-filled victory over their long-time nemesis the San Francisco 49’ers by a score of 27-13, moving their record to a surprising 7-2. It was nowhere near as interesting as it sounds.
The Saints needed every one of their 4 takeaways to score 27 straight points after the 49’ers jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game. The Saints’ lethargy was largely predictable after their Tampa romp. Kyle Shanahan had a nice game plan to start things. Nick Mullens, who looks like a young Drew Brees, was efficient with ball control. The viewer trial was having to listen to Mark Schlereth drone on and on about it. He acted like Drew Brees hasn’t seen this before, many times. Brees comes back from an early deficit the way we drive home from the store.
After a field goal made it 10-3, Brees got thumped to the ground. In pain, he guided 2 touchdown drives to take the lead at the half, 17-10. Unfortunately, his injury stiffened up at halftime and he could not continue. He stood glowering on the sideline, not acknowledging his pain, nor getting treatment. The competitiveness that he brings was evident under his helmet, which he didn’t even take off. As I write this, it has been announced that he has several fractured ribs and a punctured lung. Not good.
Jameis Winston and Tayson Hill finished the game off in the 2nd half. The Saints had a hard time adjusting to the absence of Brees. Payton seems to prefer using Hill over Latavius Murray, but neither can really be stopped. Hill lost a fumble, and neither team seemed to be able to catch a punt. Deonte Harris muffed a punt when it hit him in the facemask but he made up for it with a long kickoff return, helping the Saints win the field position battle all day. Rookie Marques Callaway continued with his impact plays, as he recovered two fumbled punts. When was the last time you saw three muffed punts in one game? As usual, Alvin Kamara was terrific, scoring 3 touchdowns.
The Bigger Question was, when have you seen the Saints defense play this well? Malcolm Jenkins and Patrick Robinson, both members of the Eagles Super Bowl Champions, but now back with the Saints, had interceptions. But it was the mercurial CJ Chauncey-Gardner and Demario Davis who wreaked havoc on the 49’ers all day. After the first two drives, the defense kept San Francisco in check.
The Saints now have to play the Birty Dirds twice in the next three weeks. Can Taysom or Jameis keep things going? For all their talents, neither has the discipline or the ability to read defenses that Brees has, so the betting line will tighten, along with all the throats in the who dat nation. It’s about to get interesting.
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