San Francisco 49ers strong on defence as New Orleans Saints get thrashed – NFL Week 12 Recap
San Francisco 49ers displayed a solid defensive show as they sacked New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees five times and returned a couple of interceptions to the end zone to seal a 31-21 victory in Week 12 game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
49ers quarterback Alex Smith was cleared to play but the team still decided to go with backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who supported the team’s offence nicely while getting the due support from the defence, which was remarkable against the Saints.
Brees was sacked five times for the loss of 36 yards. He was 26 of 41 for 267 yards and scored three touchdowns. However, he also sent two interceptions that did not help his team’s cause.
On the other hand, Kaepernick finished with completing 16 of his 25 passes for 231 yards while scoring one passing and one rushing touchdown. He also sent an interception.
The victory strengthened 49ers’ position in National Football Conference (NFC) West as they are now 8-2-1, well ahead of Seattle Seahawks (6-5). For Saints, it was a serious blow as their playoff hopes were dented a bit.
After a sluggish start to the season, the Saints had done well to get back on winning path, but their three-game winning streak was snapped by this defeat and they are now ranked third in NFC South at 5-6.
The game went neck and neck during the first half, but 49ers stunned the hosts in the third quarter in which they developed a good lead.
Earlier, in the first quarter, 49ers got the first scoring move of the game when Kaepernick rushed for seven yards to reach the end zone.
Saints equalised the score with less than two minutes left in the quarter when Brees and David Thomas connected for a score.
Saints carried on the momentum into the next quarter and scored a touchdown to get the lead as Brees connected with Marques Colston for a touchdown. However, things did not go the Saints way as Brees’ interception towards the end of the quarter was returned
by Ahmad Brooks for a touchdown.
Coming off a 14-14 first half score, both teams hoped to get a strong lead in the second half. However, this time 49ers carried their momentum going as Kaepernick and Frank Gore connected for a six-yard score, followed by Donte Whitner’s interception returned
for a touchdown. Brees and Jed Collins connected for a score to reduce the deficit as 49ers entered the final quarter with lead.
49ers got a field goal in the final quarter while Saints were not able to get even a single scoring move.
49ers will now face St. Louis Rams in Week 13, while Saints have a short week ahead as they will take on Atlanta Falcons this Thursday.
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