The 49ers came back from 13 points down in the first half, and one point with 53 seconds left to pull out a wild 48-46 win in New Orleans.
A game between two NFC heavyweights didn’t disappoint, and for the first time this season, the 49ers came out on the right end of a last-second field goal.
There was quite a bit to take away from that one. Here’s some of what we learned:
Jimmy Garoppolo wins it with his arm
Garoppolo on Sunday did what plenty of people have speculated he couldn’t do. He won a high-scoring game, against a good defense, with his arm. Garoppolo completed 26 of 35 throws for 349 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. The turnover was a good throw to Emmanuel Sanders that bounced off the receiver’s hands before floating to a Saints defender. New Orleans is as hostile a road environment as the 49ers will see, and their defense is among the league’s best. Garoppolo was money all game and is playing his best football at the most crucial time of the year.
George Kittle is the best tight end in the league
There’s not a lot that hasn’t been said about the 49ers’ exuberant tight end. He was quiet for most of Sunday afternoon, but came up with two huge plays. First he scored a five-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 35-30 lead in the third quarter. Then he came up with the play of the game on San Francisco’s final drive. On fourth-and-2, Garoppolo found the tight end on a quick out. Kittle turned up field and went for 39 yards. He also drew a 15-yard facemask penalty to put the 49ers in easy field goal range. Garoppolo was great all game, but Kittle’s effort on the last drive put San Francisco over the top.
49ers WRs step up again
The 49ers finally have themselves a receiving corps. The trio of Emmanuel Sanders, Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne has emerged as a high-quality group that has San Francisco’s passing attack rolling.
Sanders caught seven balls for 157 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for a 35-yard score. Samuel had five catches for 76 yards, along with 33 rushing yards on two carries. Bourne hauled in three balls for 18 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a crucial third-down conversion. Their presence made it more difficult to cover Kittle on his long catch-and-run late, and made it easier for the 49ers to run the ball when they did go to the ground game.
Receiver was a problem for the 49ers, but now it looks like a championship-caliber unit.
Missed tackles a problem on defense
San Francisco’s defense got carved up all game by Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense, but Sunday their biggest issue was missed tackles. Several big plays by New Orleans were sparked by 49ers defenders arriving late, arm tackling, or failing to wrap up. It looked a lot like the issues we saw with last year’s unit. It’s been a long couple weeks for San Francisco, and they’re coming off a very tough game vs. Baltimore, but they can’t allow missed tackles to become a problem through December and the postseason.
Kyle Shanahan gets in his bag
Shanahan’s play-calling prowess was on display Sunday, and he helped orchestrate an incredible afternoon that resulted in 48 points, 516 yards, and a whopping 8.3 yards per play. While the 49ers executed well, Shanahan went deep into his playbook with an option play on a handoff to fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Sanders threw a touchdown pass. There were reverses and end arounds, designed roll outs, inside runs, outside runs, and everything in between. The 49ers offense was excellent Sunday in large part due to Shanahan’s play calling.
Big win for home field
If the 49ers and Saints face each other again, it’ll be in the NFL playoffs. San Francicso took a big step toward making sure that game is at Levi’s Stadium. A victory over New Orleans not only put the 49ers at least briefly into first place in the NFC, but it gave them the head-to-head tiebreaker and improved their strength of victory – another tiebreaker that may come into play in the NFC West. No matter which way it gets sliced, this was a massive win for San Francisco in its quest for a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
