The 49ers (5-8) host the New Orleans Saints (8-4) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff in the second meeting of the year. The Saints won the first meeting 31-15 at the Louisiana Superdome on November 5. Aaron Brooks is on his second start; Jeff Blake suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 12. Brooks made his first start Sunday at Carolina, throwing four touchdowns. Ricky Williams remains the back. Joe Horn caught nine for 137 last Sunday.[1][2]
Aaron Brooks made his first NFL start last Sunday at Carolina and threw four touchdown passes in a Saints win. Sunday at 3Com is the rookie's second start, and the 49ers' defense is the kind of test that, in a normal December, gets the staff a closer look at what the club's next decade of quarterback looks like. The 49ers' Sunday is the second straight against a winning team. The November surge produced the three-game winning streak that closed the calendar's wild-card-mathematics chapter.
Week 15 has the Saints' visit plus a slate where the NFC's wild-card race is locked. The Vikings sit at 11-3. The Buccaneers at 9-4. The Saints at 8-4 hold the NFC's first wild card; the Eagles and Giants chase. Around the AFC the Titans and Raiders both head to division titles; the Dolphins and Jets battle for the AFC East. The 49ers' Sunday matters to the divisional draft order rather than to the playoff field.
Through thirteen games the 49ers sit at 5-8 with a minus 18 point differential. Garcia is on pace for 4,150 passing yards; the organization record is 4,023 (Young 1998). Owens has 80 catches for 1,303 yards across the first 13. Garner averages 89 from scrimmage. New Orleans is 8-4 with Brooks taking over for the injured Blake; Brooks threw four touchdowns in his first start last week. Williams averages 4.0 a carry across the year. Vegas opens the 49ers as 1-point home underdogs.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Titans | 10-3 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9-4 | W4 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-6 | W2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-7 | W3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-10 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3-11 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 10-3 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 9-4 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7-6 | L2 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 7-6 | L3 |
| New England Patriots | 4-9 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 10-3 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 9-4 | W5 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5-8 | L5 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5-8 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 1-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 8-5 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 8-5 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 6-7 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5-8 | W3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 11-2 | W4 |
| Detroit Lions | 8-5 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-5 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6-7 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 9-4 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9-5 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 7-6 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4-9 | L3 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-10 | -- |
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| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jeff Garcia 8 yard rush ( Wade Richey kick) | 0-7 |
| Saints | Doug Brien 40 yard field goal | 3-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jeff Garcia 1 yard rush ( Wade Richey kick) | 3-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Saints | Doug Brien 41 yard field goal | 6-14 |
| Saints | Andrew Glover 15 yard pass from Aaron Brooks ( Terry Allen run) | 14-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Greg Clark 4 yard pass from Jeff Garcia ( Wade Richey kick) | 14-21 |
| Saints | Doug Brien 28 yard field goal | 17-21 |
| 49ers | Terrell Owens 69 yard pass from Jeff Garcia (run failed) | 17-27 |
| Saints | Willie Jackson 22 yard pass from Aaron Brooks ( Doug Brien kick) | 24-27 |
| Saints | Terry Allen 1 yard rush ( Doug Brien kick) | 31-27 |
Aaron Brooks threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108, and the Saints beat the 49ers 31-27 at 3Com Park on a Doug Brien game-winning field goal with 1:54 to play. Jeff Garcia threw for 305 and two touchdowns and ran in two more on five carries for 42. Terrell Owens caught 6 for 129 with a touchdown. Charlie Garner ran for 50. The 49ers led 14-3 at halftime and 21-14 entering the fourth quarter before the Saints scored 17 points to close.[1][2]
Aaron Brooks ran for one hundred and eight on his second NFL start and the Saints won 31-27 at 3Com on a Doug Brien field goal with 1:54 to play. The 49ers' three-game winning streak is over.
Garcia ran in two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The 49ers had a 21-14 lead with thirteen minutes to play. Brooks's full-spectrum afternoon, two passing touchdowns and one of the kind of scrambling escapes that beat reporters used to describe Steve Young's prime, was the story of the back half. The 49ers' defensive linebackers got out of position twice in the fourth quarter; Brooks went 32 yards on a third-down scramble that produced the tying touchdown drive.
The 49ers walk away 5-9 with two games left. Owens caught 6 for 129 and a touchdown; his eighth game of the year over 90 receiving yards. Garcia threw for 305 and added 42 rushing yards on five scrambles. The afternoon was an offensive shootout the 49ers' defense lost. Chicago visits next Sunday for the 49ers' final home game. The fact that the November surge ended Sunday on a Brien field goal does not erase the November surge.
Saints 31, 49ers 27. Margin: minus 4. Record: 5-9, minus 22 differential. • Garcia: 25-of-38 for 305, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 5 rushes for 42, 2 rushing TDs. • Owens: 6 catches for 129, 1 TD (eighth 90-plus receiving day). • Rice: 6 catches for 62. • Garner: 11 carries for 50; 4 catches for 49. • Aaron Brooks: 12-of-29 for 203, 2 TDs; 11 rushes for 108. • Williams: 23 carries for 76 (3.3 ypc). • Horn: 5 catches for 105. • Brien game-winner: 36 yards, 1:54 left.
A 31-27 home loss to the Saints. The 49ers fall to 5-9 on a Doug Brien game-winner with 1:54 to play.
How it unfolded
New Orleans opened with a Brien field goal. Garcia answered with a 5-yard touchdown run on the second 49ers drive to make it 7-3. The second quarter produced a Garcia 6-yard touchdown to Owens to push the lead to 14-3 at the half. The third quarter opened with a Brooks 12-yard touchdown to Horn to cut it to 14-11; the 49ers answered with a Garcia 9-yard rushing touchdown to make it 21-11. The fourth quarter produced 20 New Orleans points: a Brooks scrambling touchdown drive ending in a Brooks-to-Andrew Glover 17-yard scoring strike; a Williams 1-yard touchdown to put the Saints up 28-21; a 49ers Garcia-to-Stokes touchdown to tie at 27; and the Brien game-winner with 1:54 left.
The turning point
The fourth-quarter Brooks-to-Glover touchdown. With the 49ers up 21-17 with 9:14 to play and the defense facing third-and-eight from the 49ers 17, Brooks scrambled left and found Glover in the back of the end zone. The 21-17 lead became a 28-21 deficit before the 49ers' offense got back on the field.
By the numbers
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Jeff Garcia | 25/38 | 305 | 2 | 2 | |
| NOR | |||||
| Aaron Brooks | 12/29 | 203 | 2 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Charlie Garner | 11 | 50 | 0 | 15 |
| Jeff Garcia | 5 | 42 | 2 | 16 |
| Fred Beasley | 3 | 19 | 0 | 8 |
| Paul Smith | 2 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| NOR | ||||
| Aaron Brooks | 11 | 108 | 0 | 29 |
| Terry Allen | 18 | 80 | 1 | 14 |
| Terrelle Smith | 6 | 18 | 0 | 6 |
| Chad Morton | 2 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Joe Horn | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Terrell Owens | 6 | 129 | 1 | 69 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 22 |
| Charlie Garner | 4 | 49 | 0 | 36 |
| Greg Clark | 4 | 24 | 1 | 9 |
| J.J. Stokes | 1 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Fred Beasley | 3 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Tai Streets | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| NOR | ||||
| Joe Horn | 5 | 105 | 0 | 34 |
| Andrew Glover | 3 | 33 | 1 | 15 |
| Willie Jackson | 1 | 22 | 1 | 22 |
| Keith Poole | 1 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Chad Morton | 2 | 21 | 0 | 14 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 2000 W15 - 49ers vs New Orleans Saints - Game Thread