Brees Leads Late Drive As Saints Edge 49ers, 25-22, On Last-Second Field Goal

San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) – Garrett Hartley kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the game, lifting the Saints to a 25-22 win over San Francisco in what may have been a costly victory for New Orleans.

Running back Reggie Bush was carted to the locker room in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury. He was helped off the field after falling on the football during a muffed punt return.

Turning over the ball at critical moments became a performance art for the 49ers at critical moments in their Monday night game hosting the Saints. Any conceivable significant moment where they could torpedo their own efforts, they did so with near aplomb.

The 49ers can’t help but commit every single agonizing mistake as possible this evening. The offense has committed three turnovers inside the Saints 30. And just when the 49ers looked able to regain momentum down 19-14 with about five minutes left, Phillip Adams, subbing in punt coverage duty for the injured Ted Ginn Jr., flubbed a punt that refused to follow out of bounds. The Saints dove right on top of it.

The 49ers defense, playing out of its mind all night, kept New Orleans out of the end zone when Patrick Willis nailed Pierre Thomas on a third and goal.

The 49ers committed their third turnover of the day on the Saints side of the field when Tracy Porter caught a tipped Alex Smith pass to turn away a San Francisco scoring attempt yet again.

Smith had tried to hit Michael Crabtree on a slant in the red zone but Saints linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar had dipped back into coverage and was able to tip the ball into the hands of Porter, the hero of the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl last year for the Saints.

Save for a jittery few opening minutes in which the 49ers saw a botched snap result in a safety, then allowed the Saints to score on their opening possession, the 49ers have mostly dominated this Monday night showdown between former division rivals.

San Francisco had committed two turnovers on the Saints side of the field. One was an Alex Smith interception and the other was a Delanie Walker fumble inside the Saints 10. The 49ers, however, finally broke through to take the lead with a Anthony Dixon two-yard touchdown run.

And this grizzly fellow was just starting to get so chipper. Sadly, the 49ers botched what was looking to be their first scoring drive when Alex Smith, with the ball on the Saints’ 27, overthrew running back on a simple throw to the flat. The pass was intercepted by Saints strong safety Roman Harper.

The Niners defense was able to keep the Saints from taking further advantage, however, forcing a punt after one New Orleans first down. Still, with already one flubbed snap that led to a safety and a costly interception, the 49ers mistakes are piling up early.

The 49ers lost center Eric Heitmann in the preseason to a broken leg. On the team’s first drive on Monday night, Heitmann was sorely missed, as his replacement, David Baas launched the ball over quarterback Alex Smith’s head into the end zone.

Smith was forced to smack the ball out of the back of the end zone to force a safety rather than have a Saints defender recover it for a touchdown.

This is a video of Saints QB Drew Brees’ pre-game chant saying they’re the hunters this year after winning the Super Bowl in 2009. I imagine Saints fans love this and everyone else hates it.

H/T Canal Street Chronicles

The San Francisco 49ers will have another piece of motivation to beat the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Jerry Rice’s No. 80 jersey will be retired at Candlestick Park during a halftime ceremony.

Rice’s 16 seasons in San Francisco contributed to the bulk of his record-setting numbers including 19,247 of his NFL-record 22,895 receiving yards.

You can tell the NFL loves the Saints and thinks America loves the Saints because, for the second consecutive week, New Orleans is playing in primetime.

For the Saints, the game will come down to reverting back to the 2009 version of the Saints offense that seemingly scored at will. Against the Vikings last week, they were able to only put up 14 points but most are predicting a big night from them against the 49ers.