The San Francisco 49ers are off to a worse start to their season under Chip Kelly than they had under Jim Tomsula. Blaine Gabbert wasn’t the answer at quarterback and Colin Kaepernick hasn’t fared much better since he was inserted into the lineup. But more worrisome than anything is the fact that, despite some big-name players, the defense looks even worse.
Saints vs. 49ers 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Coming off a bye week, can the 49ers pick up their second win of the season or will the Saints’ high-powered offense be too much?
Bad defense will be a theme in Santa Clara on Sunday, as the struggling New Orleans Saints will visit to take on the 49ers. Both teams are bad on defense, but the Saints, unlike the 49ers, have a quarterback capable of throwing the football. That quarterback is Drew Brees, and if you fancy watching him shred a hapless defense, the game is set for Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast by FOX.
A live stream of that game will be available via FOX Sports GO.
The 49ers rank 22nd in the league in total defense, while the Saints come in at No. 20 on that list. But worse than that -- much worse than that -- they both occupy the two bottom spots in the league in points allowed. The 49ers are 32nd, allowing 31.3 points per game while the Saints are No. 31, allowing 30.7 points per game.
Both defenses have been completely incapable of making big plays this season. It’s been left to the offenses to win games, which for the Saints has worked occasionally, but for the 49ers hasn’t really worked at all since Week 1.
Brees leads a productive offense, just as he’ll probably do every single year he’s in the league for the remainder of his career. He’s just an incredibly smart quarterback with a great arm and so long as he’s around, the Saints will be dangerous. But more than being dangerous, they should be heavily favored against a bad 49ers team.
This season, Brees has completed 214 of 308 pass attempts (69.5 percent) for 2,365 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s been sacked 11 times on the season. The ground game hasn’t been very good, with Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower the top two backs and having just over 500 yards between them. The Saints have been out-gained on the ground this season by nearly 200 yards.
Below is all you need to know to watch Sunday’s game.
How to Watch Saints vs. 49ers on Sunday
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Chris Myers, Ronde Barber, Jennifer Hale
Online Streaming: Sunday Ticket, FOX Sports GO
Three big things to know
1. POINTS FOR EVERYONE! The 49ers rank 22nd in the league in total defense, while the Saints come in at No. 20 on that list. But worse than that -- much worse than that -- they both occupy the two bottom spots in the league in points allowed. The 49ers are 32nd, allowing 31.3 points per game while the Saints are No. 31, allowing 30.7 points per game.
2. Can the 49ers do better on the ground? Possibly, but it depends on the health of Carlos Hyde. There has been some thought that Hyde could play on Sunday, but he is dealing with an injury and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he missed the game. The 49ers could instead be rolling with the likes of DuJuan Harris for most of Sunday’s game, though obviously, Kaepernick is a much bigger rushing threat than, say, Brees.
It’s one of the aspects of San Francisco’s offense that they need to figure out sooner rather than later. If Kaepernick is going to be effective, he needs to be able to shred defenses with his legs. There have been glimpses of that, but not nearly enough.
3. Yards may not be easy to come by for Brees. While the 49ers allow a ton of points and while Brees throws for a ton of yards, the 49ers’ pass defense actually ranks seventh in the league, allowing just 222 yards a game through the air.
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