49ers vs. Saints 2014: Live stream, time, TV schedule and radio

The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints have consistently been two of the top teams in the NFC over the past few seasons. In the recent past, Drew Brees would lead one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL, while guys like Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman comprised the heart of one of the league's most-feared defenses. Both teams have fallen far short of expectations through half a season.

San Francisco is 4-4, with two consecutive losses. That includes a 13-10 loss to the NFC West rival St. Louis Rams in Week 9. It was kind of a pitiful game for the 49ers, who have have had a tendency to play down to their competition this year. Colin Kaepernick was sacked a total of eight times in the game. It's a miracle he came out of the game with no injuries.

New Orleans is also 4-4, but the NFC South isn't nearly as tough as the NFC West. The 49ers are third in the division, behind the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks and the 7-1 Arizona Cardinals. New Orleans holds first place in its division, thanks to both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7) and Atlanta Falcons (2-6) being bad. The Carolina Panthers, the team always expected to be the Saints' biggest competition, hold a 3-5-1 record.

The Saints have won their last two outings in dominant fashion, downing the Green Bay Packers, 44-23, and most recently beating the Panthers, 28-10. The offense isn't scoring on pace with recent years, but Brees still commands the NFL's third-ranked passing offense, with 307.0 passing yards per game. The Saints also field the league's seventh-ranked running game at 129.5 rushing yards per game. San Francisco falters in that category, at No. 22 in passing (226.1 yards) and No. 11 in rushing (119.5 yards), but ranks third in pass defense (206.3 yards allowed) and fifth against the rush (85.6 yards allowed).