The 49ers (5-2) host the New Orleans Saints (3-4) at 3Com Park. Jim Mora is the Saints' head coach. Jim Everett is the starter. Mario Bates is the back. Michael Haynes and Quinn Early are the receivers.
Elvis Grbac is the starter for the second straight week with Steve Young on the injury report.[1][2]
Elvis Grbac starts at quarterback Sunday at 3Com Park for the second straight week. Jim Mora's Saints come to the home stadium at 3-4. Jim Everett has thrown for 200-plus in four of the first seven games. Mario Bates averages 4.5 yards per carry across the start.
The 49ers' Sunday issue is whether the third-year backup can sustain his Week 8 performance against an opponent that has produced 17-plus points in five of seven.
Week 9 has the home matchup against the Saints plus a slate where the divisional races are clarifying. The Cowboys sit at 6-1; the Packers 6-1; the Lions 5-3. The AFC has the Dolphins at 6-1 and the Bills 5-3. Inside the division the storyline is the Cowboys and Packers, the conference's two top teams. The 49ers' Sunday at 3Com is the only NFC West home game on the slate.
Through seven games the 49ers sit at 5-2 with a plus 104 point differential. Grbac starts. Rice averages 107 receiving yards per game. The Saints are 3-4 with Everett averaging 220 passing per game. Vegas opens the 49ers as 8-point home favorites. Stat worth watching today: Grbac's pocket reads against the Saints' front.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-4 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3-4 | L3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 3-4 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-5 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 2-5 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 5-2 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4-3 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 4-3 | L3 |
| New England Patriots | 2-5 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 2-6 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-1 | W4 |
| Oakland Raiders | 6-2 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 4-4 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-4 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 2-5 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-2 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5-2 | W1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 5-2 | L1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2-5 | W2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1-6 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 5-2 | W3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-2 | W2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-3 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3-4 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 2-5 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-1 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4-3 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 3-5 | W1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2-5 | -- |
| New York Giants | 2-5 | L1 |
Jim Everett threw for 156 yards and Mario Bates ran for 106 on 26 carries with a touchdown as the New Orleans Saints beat the 49ers 11-7 at 3Com Park. Elvis Grbac went 29 of 42 for 243 yards with two interceptions and ran in a touchdown of his own. Jerry Rice caught 8 for 108. The 49ers' offense produced 7 points across the full sixty minutes.[1][2]
Mario Bates ran for one hundred and six yards on twenty-six carries at 3Com Park and the Saints beat the 49ers 11-7. The 49ers' worst single-game offensive line of the title-defense year. Elvis Grbac threw two interceptions on 29 dropbacks. Jerry Rice caught 8 for 108 in the only piece of the offense that worked.
The defensive front produced one sack of Jim Everett. The Saints' offensive line, with Mario Bates running for 4.1 yards per carry, kept the chain moving. The 49ers' offense produced 7 points across the full sixty minutes; the lone touchdown came on a Grbac 4-yard rushing score.
The 49ers walk away 5-3 with the home game against Carolina on Sunday next. The wire copy is going to spend the column on the offensive issues. The film room is going to spend the week on Grbac's pocket reads and the offensive line's protection.
Saints 11, 49ers 7. Margin: minus 4. Record: 5-3.
An 11-7 home loss to the Saints. The 49ers fall to 5-3 with the worst single-game offensive line of the title-defense year.
How it unfolded
The first quarter ended scoreless. A Saints field goal in the second quarter made it 3-0. Grbac's rushing touchdown made it 7-3 at the half. The third quarter saw a Bates rushing touchdown to put the Saints up 9-7 (with a missed extra point that the Saints converted into the two-point try for 11). The closing two quarters were scoreless.
The turning point
The third-quarter Bates rushing touchdown. With the 49ers up 7-3 and the defense facing third-and-two at the 49ers' 4, the staff called the inside dive. Bates converted. The 11-7 cushion was the margin the 49ers' offense could not close.
By the numbers
Grbac 29-of-42 for 243 with two interceptions; the worst single-game line of his career. Rice 8 catches for 108. Loville 27 on 10 carries. Defensively the front produced one sack; the secondary held the Saints' wide receivers below 100 combined.
Personnel watch
Grbac's two-interception afternoon is the headline. The third-year backup's pocket reads against the Saints' front did not produce the kind of multi-touchdown line of Week 8. Rice's 108 was his fifth 100-yard receiving day of the year.
What it means
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Elvis Grbac | 29/42 | 243 | 0 | 2 | |
| NOR | |||||
| Jim Everett | 12/26 | 156 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Derek Loville | 10 | 27 | 0 | 8 |
| Elvis Grbac | 4 | 18 | 1 | 11 |
| William Floyd | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NOR | ||||
| Mario Bates | 26 | 106 | 1 | 12 |
| Derek Brown | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Everett | 3 | -3 | 0 | -1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jerry Rice #80 | 8 | 108 | 0 | 17 |
| William Floyd | 6 | 38 | 0 | 16 |
| Ted Popson | 4 | 37 | 0 | 12 |
| Derek Loville | 5 | 30 | 0 | 8 |
| John Taylor #82 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 14 |
| Brent Jones #84 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Jamal Willis | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Brett Carolan | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| NOR | ||||
| Quinn Early | 4 | 50 | 0 | 17 |
| Michael Haynes | 3 | 49 | 0 | 18 |
| Irv Smith | 1 | 26 | 0 | 26 |
| Derek Brown | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 |
| Wesley Walls | 2 | 14 | 0 | 8 |
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