San Francisco 49ers show completeness in win over Saints
The San Francisco 49ers got into a shootout with the Saints in New Orleans and proved they have everything they need to contend for a Super Bowl.
If you had been told that the San Francisco 49ers would go on the road to face the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome and would get into a shootout, you would probably think that things did not turn out well for Kyle Shanahan’s team. And yet, a Robbie Gould field goal as time expired lifted the 49ers to a 48-46 victory over the Saints in the Big Easy.
Much of what the Niners have done this season as they now move to 11-2 on the year has been predicated upon the success of their defense. Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman and the rest of Robert Saleh’s defense has been dominant. The questions about this team, however, have centered around the top-end potential of the Jimmy Garoppolo-led offense.
Matched up with Drew Brees and the Saints, though, the 49ers defense didn’t stand a chance. Instead, they were consistently giving up big plays with Jared Cook burning them for two big early scores, Michael Thomas eating away at them and, though they bottled up Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray getting chunks of yardage on the ground.
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And yet, Shanahan’s team never backed down. When they trailed 27-14 midway through the second quarter, the 49ers used two big Raheem Mostert touchdowns (one on a trick pass from Emmanuel Sanders) and a few defensive stops to take a one-point advantage into halftime.
It was a back-and-forth affair and one that truly could’ve gone either way. But what’s most impressive from the 49ers is that they showcased that their offense can carry them if their defense isn’t stifling an opponent.
Garoppolo finished with 349 yards passing and four scores, Mostert and Matt Breida combined for 16 carries for 123 yards while Deebo Samuel had 33 rushing yards as well. And then George Kittle, Samuel, Sanders and Kendrick Bourne (who had two touchdown receptions) all proved valuable in the passing attack.
Despite having 10 wins coming into Sunday, it felt as if people were still questioning the validity of the 49ers as contenders. There should be no questions now.
The San Francisco defense isn’t going to face the Saints every week, meaning they aren’t going to need the offense to be near-perfect every week. Having said that, the Niners proving to the world that their offense can be this good — and this clutch after the late-fourth-quarter pass to Kittle to set up the field goal — shows how complete this team is.
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Depending on the result of the Seahawks-Rams game on Sunday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers could move into the NFC’s No. 1 seed after Week 14. But even if they don’t, no one should be dismissing their status as contenders any longer. They played one of the NFL’s best on the road and in the style of play that favored the opponent and came out victorious. If that’s not the mark of an elite team, I’m not sure what is.