Recap
AI summary based on verified facts
Steve Young threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns including two to Brent Jones in his return from offseason surgery and the 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints 33-7 at 3Com Park. Terry Kirby ran for 43 on 10 carries; Hearst ran for 29 with 23 receiving. Owens caught 3 for 74. Wade Richey kicked four field goals. Danny Wuerffel threw for 119 with a touchdown.[1][2]
Columnist recap
AI summary based on verified facts
Steve Young returned at starter and threw three touchdowns at 3Com Park. The 49ers won 33-7. Brent Jones caught two of Young's three scoring throws in his first game back from offseason wrist surgery. Wade Richey kicked four field goals. The Sunday at 3Com was the kind of home game where the offensive script that the front-office spent training camp building looked the closest to its September projection.
Terrell Owens caught three passes for 74 yards. The rookie WR2 looked like a starter on the second-half drives. The defense produced four sacks and held Mike Ditka's offense to 240 total yards. The Saints' first 49ers visit under Ditka ended with the visitors' offense scoring on one of nine possessions.
The 49ers walk away 2-1 with the home game against Atlanta on Sunday next. Young's first start of the year produced the kind of performance the staff was projecting. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Brent Jones' return. The film room is going to spend the week on the four-sack front rotation and the receiving distribution.
By the numbers
AI summary based on verified facts
49ers 33, Saints 7. Margin: plus 26. Record: 2-1.
- Young: 18-of-21 for 220, 3 TDs, 0 INTs; 4 rushes for 12.
- Hearst: 14 carries for 29; 4 catches for 23.
- Kirby: 10 carries for 43.
- Brent Jones: 5 catches for 58, 2 TDs.
- Owens: 3 catches for 74.
- Stokes: 4 catches for 61.
- Wuerffel: 7-of-15 for 119, 1 TD.
- Bates: 8 carries for 28.
- Defense: 4 sacks, 1 INT, 240 yards allowed.
- Quarter scoring: SF 7-10-10-6; NO 0-7-0-0.
Film room
AI summary based on verified facts
A 33-7 home win over the Saints. The 49ers improve to 2-1 in Steve Young's first start of the year.
How it unfolded
Young opened with a touchdown drive ending in a 14-yard touchdown to Brent Jones. The Saints answered with a Danny Wuerffel touchdown to Andre Hastings to tie at 7. The second quarter produced a Young second touchdown to Brent Jones and a Wade Richey field goal to push the lead to 17-7 at the half. The third quarter saw a Young touchdown to Marc Edwards and a Richey field goal to make it 27-7. A closing fourth-quarter pair of Richey field goals made the final 33-7.
The turning point
The second-quarter Young-to-Brent Jones second touchdown. With the 49ers up 7-7 and the offense facing third-and-eight at the Saints' 16, Young found Jones on a corner route. The 14-7 cushion put the home team in script-the-clock posture against a Saints offense that, with Wuerffel under center, produced one touchdown and four punts.
By the numbers
Young 18-of-21 for 220 with three touchdowns and no interceptions; the cleanest passing line of his recent calendar. Brent Jones 5 catches for 58 with two scores in his first game back from wrist surgery. Owens 3 catches for 74; the rookie WR2 looked the most-experienced of the start. Stokes 4 for 61. Defensively the front produced four sacks (Bryant Young 2, Dana Stubblefield 1, Chike Okeafor 1).
Personnel watch
