The 49ers (6-3) host the New Orleans Saints (6-3) at 3Com Park. Jim Mora is the head coach. Wade Wilson is the starter. Brad Muster is the back. Quinn Early and Floyd Turner are the receivers.
The 49ers come off the 45-21 road blowout at Tampa Bay. The Sunday lines up as a straightforward NFC matchup with no significant late-week roster news.[1][2]
Jim Mora's Saints come to 3Com Park at 6-3. The Sunday matchup is the kind of NFC West home game where the divisional tiebreaker is on the line. Wade Wilson is the starter. Brad Muster is the back.
The Sunday's biggest unknown is the front rotation against Wilson's pocket reads. The Sunday at home is the kind of game where the staff can evaluate the depth chart across the closing snaps. The Friday session was clean.
Week 12 has the home matchup against the Saints plus a slate where the playoff race is settling. The Giants sit at 8-1; the Cowboys 7-2; the Vikings 6-3. The AFC East has the Bills at 8-1. In the divisional standings, the storyline is the conference's tightest divisional race. The 49ers' Sunday at 3Com is the only NFC West home matchup on the slate. The Sunday-night game is the most-anticipated matchup of the slate's closing window.
Through nine games the 49ers sit at 6-3 with a plus 76 point differential. Young is on pace for 3,900 passing yards. Watters averages 83 rushing yards per game. The Saints are 6-3 with Wilson averaging 195 passing per game and Muster 3.5 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 5-point home favorites. Watching today: the divisional tiebreaker.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-3 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-4 | L2 |
| Houston Oilers | 5-4 | W4 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0-9 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 7-2 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-2 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 5-4 | W3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-6 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 1-8 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-2 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 5-4 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 5-4 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5-5 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-5 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 6-3 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-3 | W3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-6 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2-7 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 7-2 | W4 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-4 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-4 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-5 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2-7 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 7-2 | W7 |
| New York Giants | 6-3 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4-5 | L5 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 3-7 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 2-7 | L1 |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Merton Hanks 67 yard interception return ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | John Taylor 26 yard pass from Steve Young ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-14 |
| 49ers | Jerry Rice 11 yard pass from Steve Young ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-21 |
| 49ers | Steve Young 7 yard rush ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-28 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Marc Logan 5 yard rush ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-35 |
| 49ers | Jerry Rice 14 yard pass from Steve Young ( Mike Cofer kick) | 0-42 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Saints | Floyd Turner 6 yard pass from Mike Buck ( Morten Andersen kick) | 7-42 |
Steve Young threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns, Ricky Watters ran for 116 on 16 carries and the 49ers blew out the New Orleans Saints 42-7 at 3Com Park. John Taylor caught 6 for 90 with a touchdown. Wade Wilson threw for 46 yards. The Saints were held to seven points. The closing two-minute drill produced the kind of in-game adjustment the staff has been calling.[1][2]
Steve Young threw three touchdowns at 3Com Park. The 49ers blew out the Saints 42-7. Ricky Watters ran for one hundred and sixteen yards on sixteen carries. John Taylor caught a touchdown. The Sunday at 3Com was the cleanest single-game three-phase performance of the year.
The defensive front produced four sacks of Wade Wilson. The Saints' offense, with Wilson throwing for 46, produced 7 points across the full sixty minutes. The 49ers' offense scored on six of nine possessions.
The 49ers walk away 7-3 with the road trip to Los Angeles on Sunday next. The wire copy is going to spend the column on the divisional tiebreaker. The film room is going to spend the week on the front rotation's four-sack afternoon.
49ers 42, Saints 7. Margin: plus 35. Record: 7-3.
A 42-7 home blowout of the Saints. The 49ers improve to 7-3.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a Rice 14-yard touchdown. A Wade Richey field goal made it 10-0. A Watters rushing touchdown made it 17-0. Young added a Taylor touchdown to push the lead to 24-0. A Wade Richey field goal made it 27-0 at the half. The third quarter saw a Young second touchdown to Rice to make it 34-0. A Saints touchdown made it 34-7. A closing 49ers touchdown made the final 42-7.
The turning point
The first-quarter Rice touchdown. With the 49ers driving from midfield and the offense facing third-and-six at the Saints' 14, Young found Rice on a slant. The 7-0 cushion put the home team in pressure-the-passer posture from the first quarter forward.
By the numbers
Young 14-of-21 for 205 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Watters 116 on 16 carries; the second 100-yard rushing day of the year. Rice 4 catches for 62 with two scores. Taylor 6 catches for 90 with a touchdown. Defensively the front produced four sacks (Bryant Young 2, Stubblefield 1.5, Junior Bryant 0.5).
Personnel watch
Watters' 116 rushing is the headline. The lead back's per-carry number was 7.3, the highest of his career. The defensive front looks the closest to its 1992 form. Bryant Young's 7 sacks across 10 games puts him on the franchise's all-time pace.
What it means
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Young #8 | 14/21 | 205 | 3 | 0 | |
| Steve Bono | 3/4 | 39 | 0 | 0 | |
| NOR | |||||
| Mike Buck | 10/15 | 122 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wade Wilson | 6/15 | 46 | 0 | 3 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Ricky Watters | 16 | 116 | 0 | 33 |
| Tom Rathman #44 | 5 | 39 | 0 | 19 |
| Steve Young #8 | 3 | 34 | 1 | 17 |
| Amp Lee | 5 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Bono | 4 | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| Marc Logan | 2 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Dexter Carter | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| NOR | ||||
| Brad Muster | 6 | 38 | 0 | 18 |
| Fred McAfee | 7 | 33 | 0 | 8 |
| Derek Brown | 5 | 27 | 0 | 8 |
| Wade Wilson | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Derrick Ned | 3 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Dalton Hilliard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| John Taylor #82 | 6 | 90 | 1 | 25 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 4 | 62 | 2 | 24 |
| Brent Jones #84 | 4 | 53 | 0 | 29 |
| Nate Singleton | 2 | 28 | 0 | 21 |
| Jamie Williams #87 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| NOR | ||||
| Quinn Early | 2 | 48 | 0 | 38 |
| Floyd Turner | 5 | 47 | 1 | 14 |
| Brad Muster | 3 | 21 | 0 | 13 |
| Irv Smith | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Eric Martin | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Dalton Hilliard | 2 | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| Derrick Ned | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Fred McAfee | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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