1986 Week 3: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Kickoff time: 4:00pm.
1986 Week 3: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. This is a regular-season game that earned its place on a curated list, which means the matchup itself carried some weight beyond a generic Sunday. Some regular-season games stick in the memory more than the playoff games of the same era. The names attached to New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers in 1986, the implications for division standing, or just the moment one play crystallized the season, made this one of those. Watch the early possessions for the read. Coaches treat curated-list games as their best stretches of preparation; the answers come quickly when the stakes are tangible.
1986 Week 3: New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers meet at a midpoint in the season, with the rest of the 1986 field watching to see how the result reshapes the conference standings. Around the league, the scouting departments take careful notes on regular-season games featuring contenders. The film here will be reviewed long after the final whistle by staffs who plan to face one or both of these teams later in the year.
1986 Week 3: New Orleans Saints versus San Francisco 49ers. Midseason analytics shift around what matters most on any given Sunday: takeaway differential and red-zone conversion lead the indicator list for both contenders and the teams hunting them. The on-screen scoreboard tells one story; the underlying drive efficiency tells the more durable one. Both staffs know which numbers travel through December and which evaporate after a hot start.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 12-4 | W5 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10-6 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-10 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 5-11 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 10-6 | L5 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-12 | L3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-13 | W3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 11-5 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10-6 | W3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 10-6 | W5 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8-8 | L4 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-12 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 10-5-1 | W3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 10-6 | L2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-8-1 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7-9 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 14-2 | W7 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9-7 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L4 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4-12 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-14 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 14-2 | W9 |
| Washington Redskins | 12-4 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 7-9 | L5 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5-10-1 | L1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4-11-1 | W1 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 310171717 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1013202626 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 30 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| 49ers | Dwight Clark 4 yard pass from Jeff Kemp ( Ray Wersching kick) | 0-10 |
| Saints | Morten Andersen 44 yard field goal | 3-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Saints | Eugene Goodlow 29 yard pass from Dalton Hilliard ( Morten Andersen kick) | 10-10 |
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 40 yard field goal | 10-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Saints | Mel Gray 101 yard kickoff return ( Morten Andersen kick) | 17-13 |
| 49ers | Derrick Harmon 5 yard rush ( Ray Wersching kick) | 17-20 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 28 yard field goal | 17-23 |
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 32 yard field goal | 17-26 |
| Saints | 49ers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 10 | 30 |
| Total Yards | 229 | 461 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 10/21 | 29/44 |
| Pass yards | 154 | 332 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 4 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 44 | 7 |
| Net pass yards | 110 | 325 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 17 | 42 |
| Rush yards | 119 | 136 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 9 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 71 | 20 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Jeff Kemp | 29/44 | 332 | 1 | 1 | |
| NOR | |||||
| Dave Wilson | 9/20 | 125 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dalton Hilliard | 1/1 | 29 | 1 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Derrick Harmon | 13 | 43 | 1 | 15 |
| Roger Craig #33 | 19 | 42 | 0 | 13 |
| Tony Cherry | 3 | 17 | 0 | 10 |
| Jeff Kemp | 4 | 15 | 0 | 10 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Tom Rathman #44 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| NOR | ||||
| Rueben Mayes | 7 | 64 | 0 | 29 |
| Dalton Hilliard | 7 | 44 | 0 | 36 |
| Kelvin Edwards | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Buford Jordan | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jerry Rice #80 | 7 | 120 | 0 | 26 |
| Dwight Clark #87 | 7 | 100 | 1 | 29 |
| Mike Wilson #85 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 18 |
| Roger Craig #33 | 7 | 29 | 0 | 10 |
| Russ Francis #81 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 19 |
| Derrick Harmon | 3 | 25 | 0 | 15 |
| NOR | ||||
| Eugene Goodlow | 2 | 51 | 1 | 29 |
| Hoby Brenner | 2 | 45 | 0 | 30 |
| Buford Jordan | 2 | 24 | 0 | 14 |
| Eric Martin | 2 | 19 | 0 | 11 |
| Kelvin Edwards | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| John Williams | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
San Francisco 49ers defeated New Orleans Saints 26-17 at Candlestick Park in Week 3. The final scoring play was 49ers: Ray Wersching 32 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Jeff Kemp: 332 pass yards on 29-of-44, 1 TD, 1 INT.
San Francisco 49ers walked out of Candlestick Park with a 26-17 Week 3 result New Orleans Saints will replay all the way to the offseason. The final scoring play came from 49ers: Ray Wersching 32 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier.
San Francisco 49ers 26, New Orleans Saints 17.
Game: 1986 Week 3. Q1: 3 scoring plays. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 2 scoring plays.
Top performers: - Jeff Kemp: 332 pass yards on 29-of-44, 1 TD, 1 INT - Rueben Mayes: 64 rush yards on 7 carries - Jerry Rice: 7 catches for 120 yards
Week 3, played at Candlestick Park. Final: New Orleans Saints 17, San Francisco 49ers 26, with San Francisco 49ers taking the result by 9.
**First quarter**
- 49ers: Ray Wersching 30 yard field goal - 49ers: Dwight Clark 4 yard pass from Jeff Kemp ( Ray Wersching kick) - Saints: Morten Andersen 44 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Saints: Eugene Goodlow 29 yard pass from Dalton Hilliard ( Morten Andersen kick) - 49ers: Ray Wersching 40 yard field goal
**Third quarter**
- Saints: Mel Gray 101 yard kickoff return ( Morten Andersen kick) - 49ers: Derrick Harmon 5 yard rush ( Ray Wersching kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- 49ers: Ray Wersching 28 yard field goal - 49ers: Ray Wersching 32 yard field goal
**Top performers**
- Jeff Kemp: 332 pass yards on 29-of-44, 1 TD, 1 INT - Rueben Mayes: 64 rush yards on 7 carries - Jerry Rice: 7 catches for 120 yards