49ers vs. Saints 2013, Week 11: New Orleans beats San Francisco with last-second field goal

While there were plenty of story lines to discuss following the game, it is the late personal foul call against the Niners that has been the hot topic around the league.

David Fuccillo at Niners Nation admits the play was close at full speed and doesn’t hold it against the refs for calling the penalty, but points out that Brooks struck Brees low around the shoulders, not the neck.

Jim Ross calls get layered over a lot of brutal sports moments. This is probably the best one you’ve ever seen. It’s also really refreshing to see a completely appropriate Jim Ross call that doesn’t utilize Mankind off the top of the Hell in a Cell.

Colston certainly understood the moment, although he was not about to get caught up in the moment, per ESPN.com:

Overall, Colston sits 91st in NFL history in receiving yardage. If he can amass 500 more yards this season, he will vault up to the 74th spot on the list. In doing so, he would pass names such as Hall of Famers Bobby Mitchell, Don Hutson, Ozzie Newsome and Tommy McDonald.

The Saints realized following the 49ers’ second touchdown that they needed to flip the game from a defensive slugfest into a shootout. After some initial failures, the deep completions started to flow, and the Saints got in an offensive rhythm. They moved the ball successfully in the fourth quarter, and while the offense couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone, the Saints were able to slowly whittle down the 49ers’ lead with a series of field goals.

The stage was set for Kaepernick to prove he wasn’t a flawed third-year quarterback struggling to read defenses. Two minutes were on the clock, the ball was in his hands and a drive would set up the game-winning field goal -- but he was stopped, the ball was punted away and the Saints finalized another drive to leave with the victory.

It’s OK, Drew. You guys still have a chance.

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I’m doing ...

“FFFFFFFFFFFFFINE!”

While attempting to make a play on a high throw, Greer landed awkwardly. His knee bent inwards in a way it shouldn’t, which forced the 10-year veteran down to the turf. He immediately grabbed at his knee and remained down on the field for five minutes before being helped off.

Greer appeared to be in good spirits as he was carted off the field. He waved to the crowd with a smile on his face and then put his hands in the air.

We’ll take a look at both teams below, starting with the home team:

Brees and the Saints have been so good this season. They have the No. 2 passing offense in the league, as they throw for 324.9 yards per game on average. They should have a tough time against the 49ers in that vein, however; San Francisco boasts the No. 9 passing defense, allowing 211.4 passing yards on average, and have been great at creating turnovers this season.

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Game Date/Time and Location: Sunday, Nov. 17, 4:25 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.

TV schedule and distribution map: Fox; The506.com

Given how tight the matchup appears on paper -- that Saints are favored by just three points, according to Odds Shark -- it’s somewhat surprising that experts are so overwhelmingly bullish on the Saints. We’ll see whether they are right starting at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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The Saints are three-point favorites at Oddsshark.com, thanks largely to the home-field advantage they hold in the raucus environment of the Superdome. They’ve been dominant at home this season, not only going 5-0 straight up but undefeated against the spread (ATS).

The 49ers have been good away from San Fran this season, but don’t get too caught up in their 3-1 road mark -- their three opponents during those away victories are a combined 5-14. Against Indianapolis -- the one winning team they’ve travelled to and the only one with a loud dome similiar to what they’ll face in New Orleans -- they lost by 20 points.