190 thoughts during 49ers Week 14 win against Saints

It’s once again time to join Niner Noise’s resident Australian, as the San Francisco 49ers face the New Orleans Saints in a battle of potential No. 1 seeds in the NFC.

This may be the most important game for the franchise since the Harbaugh era. Simply put a win would put the 49ers on the path for a showdown with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17 for a bye.

The 49ers need to believe they can hammer the Saints, who have not been impressive at home.

I am beyond nervous here.

The New Orleans Saints to have the ball, I do like when the other team get the ball first.

I like that he’s in the league though, I think gadget weapons have a future in the NFL.

ONE WEEK WITHOUT AN INJURY PLEASE!!!

The Saints are passing quick, which is smart. Not a shock as the Saints are very well coached by Sean Payton.

Ugh, Saints driving down the field.

Not the best start, I hope the offense are switched on.

What a throw to Sanders! Laser strike!

3rd and Goal here. Come on Niners.

Minus a miscue on 1st and Goal which was technically a drop by Deebo, that was perfect passing by Garoppolo.

Time for the defense to get started again. But this has been a great start to the game by both teams.

Ugh, that was not good by the special teams as the Saints will start near midfield on that return.

Not that it matters because Bosa just destroyed that little flip to Kamara. Great start by the defense.

Seriously, I love how the Saints use Hill. I would not be opposed to the 49ers doing something similar with an athlete.

James could be a candidate for that, he was a high school quarterback and has enough explosion to be used in the backfield.

I have no idea if that’s a good route that broke through the zone or a blown assignment.

Ahkello Witherspoon blew up Cook on the play and got flagged, so now the Saints will go for two points with the penalty enforced here.

No good! The 49ers got SOME momentum defensively at least.

That said it’s 13-7 to the Saints early, and this is really not a good thing as I was praying for a strong defense performance to get over the line.

So will the 49ers continue to pass, or will they revert to the run?

The answer is run it. For the first play at least.

Two false starts early by the 49ers offensive line. The Dome is an intimidating place to play.

Ugh, third down sack and the 49ers will punt deep within their territory here

Special team has been amazingly poor, another big return here.

The 49ers need a turnover or no matter what they’re going to be down by two scores early.

Going to end the first quarter at 13-7, but the Saints very close to scoring a third touchdown. Not good.

First play of the second quarter and it’s a third passing touchdown for Drew Brees. This does not look good.

20-7 to the Saints, Robert Saleh needs to make some drastic changes to the coverage.

TOUCHDOWN! SANDERS CATCHES A BOMB AND IT’S A ONE PLAY RESPONSE!

20-14, but I still can’t get over that.

First Sanders cut so deep that he broke the ankles on one defender, then pretty much wrestled with another to catch the bomb. Then he fell over, then get got back up, then he broke a desperation tackle and got in.

That may be the touchdown of the season for San Francisco.

This is a hell of a game to watch. Both teams are pulling out the stops.

Wow, Bourne had a hell of a block on that play too.

FUMBLE! Unfortunately the ball trickled out of bounds. Harris had a nice play there.

Nice tackle aside, the Saints are driving down the field again.

The Saints continue to drive down the field. Double dammit.

At least Bosa is back.

The defense has been torn apart through the air. Nobody has been able to pass on the defense like this all season.

The Saints tried the read option with Hill, but the 49ers wised up to that and there’s a chance for a stop here.

ANOTHER NINER IS DOWN! I MEAN GIVE ME A BREAK!

I mean seriously, we must lead the league.

1st and Goal. The 49ers have literally not been able to stop the Saints once.

Big stop on 3rd and Goal! Time for the 49ers to go a big stop here.

Ugh, Brees with the QB sneak and it’s a fourth touchdown in four drives.

This is new, the 49ers are in a shootout.

This is a masterpiece by Garoppolo thus far. He’s taking every yard the Saints defense is offering him.

Mostert with a big run. Play action is a possibility again now.

WHAT A TRICK PLAY!

THIS GAME IS INSANITY!

Double reverse to Sanders who was under pressure immediately, but throws it anyway and Mostert catches it.

27-21 to the Saints. Amazing.

Remember what I said about the bomb to Sanders being the touchdown of the season for San Francisco? That lasted for less than a quarter.

Can the defense make a stop however?

3rd and 1 here. Hill at quarterback interestingly.

Bosa wasn’t having any of that, he took Hill down approximately 0.0003 seconds after Hill started running to the right.

The 49ers finally forced a stop! Can they take the lead?

Well if they do, they’re doing it after a bad holding penalty.

This may not be a defensive masterpiece, but Bosa has been amazingly breaking into the backfield.

That pass to Kittle right afterwards was perfect however.

Two minute warning. The 49ers are down 27-21 but they in scoring position here.

They get the ball back for the second half too.

Mostert looks so amazing out there. He’s finding room everywhere.

Ugh, but it was a flag. Of course.

49ers finally need to call a timeout due to the noise. But since it’s under two minutes to go in the half it isn’t a huge deal.

The Saints want the ball back for one last drive, so the defense is going to have a chance to gain some big momentum before the half.

This has been trick play central!

Shanahan has honestly called a perfect half of football. I could not find a fault in it, nor do I want to.

That is not a good time to have a false start. Luckily there’s enough time and downs to make it up.

TOUCHDOWN! Mostert runs right through the middle of the defense and he is in career best form right now!

Sean Payton looks like he was served some bad gumbo by the look on his face.

49ers lead for the first time today! 28-27 to the good guys!

Oh my god, I could watch the look on Sean Payton’s face forever.

They did it in slow motion, it was amazing.

Some time left however for the Saints to take the lead back before the end of the half.

Some horrible plays by the Saints, and it’s not going to happen.

OK here we go, can San Francisco get some breathing room?

Oh no, Sanders deflects the ball in the air and the Saints come down with it.

Nothing wrong with that throw, that should be caught.

Oh boy, that’s a momentum killer.

But the defense goes with a three and out to gain some needed momentum back.

Big 55 yard attempt is good, and the Saints do get the lead back 30-28.

Garoppolo needs to keep the aggression up however. The pick wasn’t on him, he’s been throwing a masterclass today.

Ugh, 3rd and 1 run is stuffed. I am shocked the 49ers didn’t go for some sort of play action.

It doesn’t look good either.

He got bent over at the knee. That did not look good at all.

A good punt at least gives some breathing room for the 49ers defense.

FUMBLE! 49ers HAVE IT!

The Saints only got a field goal on their takeaway, can the 49ers go one better?

Yes they can! Kittle gets in and the 49ers take the lead back!

34-30 to the 49ers. This has been a crazy game.

The Saints are driving down the field again, the offenses on both teams look Super Bowl caliber.

Big 4th and 1 play coming up again. Can the defense make a stop.

No they can’t. Big power run by Hill.

Oh sure, when the Saints tip the ball in the air it’s out of reach.

Right in front of the referee.

Field goal is good and it’s a 35-33 lead to the 49ers.

On the topic of Thomas, he’s been well held so far. He’s had catches, but mostly on short throws.

Can the offense make some wriggle room here?

Offensive line looks much weaker without Richburg. A big hit and now a sack in consecutive plays.

Ugh a holding penalty on Harris during the punt now means we’re kicking again after what was a very decent punt.

The penalty worked out very well for the Saints, who are now near midfield again.

Bosa has been everywhere today. Great game for him.

FINALLY a penalty gets called on Thomas. Who frankly has been interfering more than once today.

Bosa tips the screen pass, he has been utterly dominant.

FAKE PUNT GETS PUT INCOMPLETE!

Sean Payton is angry like his replacement gumbo went sour again.

The fans don’t know the rule, neither does Payton.

In fairness to them, I didn’t actually know this either.

Can the 49ers take advantage here?

49ers end the third quarter with the ball and the lead, can they take advantage of this momentum?

The answer is they can’t. The Saints blitzed and sacked Garoppolo.

Wait! Defensive holding! What a let off!

The ref totally botched that when he said offensive holding.

The Saints blitzed, but Garoppolo did a great job getting that to Bourne.

Huge third down here. The 49ers are in field goal range, but they would want to be up by more than one score.

Great pass to Deebo! What a weapon he is now.

Another big third down here.

What a big penalty thrown! Garoppolo did an amazing job extending the play and getting it to Juszczyk.

The Saints fans are booing, ignoring they got that exact same call during their second field goal.

1st and Goal. A touchdown here would be huge.

TOUCHDOWN! Bourne with his second touchdown of the day!

Garoppolo rode that pocket like a pro. He has had a huge day.

42-33 to the 49ers. Can they hold on?

That failed two point conversion for the Saints is helping the 49ers.

There’s that big play to Thomas that seems to happen every Saints game.

He’s the best receiver in the league for a reason.

Ugh, touchdown to New Orleans after Brees connects to Thomas.

Great game for the neutral, but I’ve had enough of close games for the time being.

42-40 to the 49ers. This game has been insane.

The offense needs to keep going. No going into their shell.

Five minutes to go, 3rd down, I have goosebumps.

Garoppolo scrambles for a first down! What a play!

A Kittle drop, that doesn’t happen very often.

What a reverse to Deebo! The 49ers are in offensive territory!

Oh no, Kittle limping again.

The 49ers shouldn’t settle for a field goal by running the clock down. The defense hasn’t stopped New Orleans very well today.

49ers hit the field goal and it’s 45-40.

Defense needs to win the two minute drill. All there is to it.

Oh no…they are going right down the field.

Ginn had an unforgivable amount of room. How was he not covered!?

I just don’t know about this one.

Ugh. Touchdown to the Saints.

The only saving grace is that there’s time for the 49ers to do something here.

Two point attempt no good and it’s 46-45 to the Saints.

So the good news is the 49ers only need a field goal to win, and if this somehow happens it’d be nice to beat a good team at the last second instead of it happening to us for a change.

3rd and 2. This is going to be big.

Incomplete. 4th and 2.

OH MY GOD!

YES!

KITTLE YOU BEAUTIFUL MAN!

DON’T YOU DARE RUIN THIS WITH A FLAG REFS!

IT’S ON THE DEFENSE ANYWAY!

Here we go.

30 yard field goal on the final play.

And.

It.

Is.

…

GOOD!

YESSS!

NINERS WIN! 48-46! WHAT A GAME!

YESSSSSSSSS!