SF 49ers vs. Saints: 5 matchups that’ll determine Week 10 outcome
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: SF 49ers QB Nick Mullens vs. Saints QB Drew Brees
A year ago, fans were treated to a complete shootout between Drew Brees and 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
That won’t be the case with Jimmy G on the mend with a high-ankle sprain.
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Instead, Nick Mullens will be asked to at least keep some pace with Brees, who is already leading the league with a 74.0 completion percentage and has a fourth-best 110.3 passer rating on the season.
Mullens, meanwhile, needs to rebound from his lackluster Week 9 efforts against the Green Bay Packers. And one of the key ways he’ll need to do so is by limiting the turnovers. Mullens already has thrown four interceptions on the season, and his 3.0 interception percentage ranks ninth highest among qualifiers.
Not good.
Granted, San Francisco isn’t asking Mullens to go stride-for-stride and drive-for-drive with Brees. The future Hall of Famer will win that bout easily.
Instead, Mullens merely needs to be effective enough to engineer elongated drives without making the mistakes that ultimately destroyed the Niners efforts last week against Green Bay.
Next. 5 roster moves 49ers should plan on making for 2021. dark
The SF 49ers and Saints kick off on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 4:25 p.m. ET.