Week 13 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 10, New Orleans Saints 34

What you need to know

San Francisco 49ers

WR Antonio Bryant continued to be the primary target for QB Alex Smith, getting 13 targets in Week 13 against the Saints. Smith looked towards Bryant early and often for deep passes, but they connected just once for over 20 yards on a busted Saints coverage for a 48 yard score. The constant attempts at deep passes led to three interceptions, two by CB Mike McKenzie. WR Arnaz Battle was the other main contributor as a receiver, with four catches for 43 yards on short routes.

QB Alex Smith had to check down to Arnaz Battle or RB Frank Gore with the Saints taking away the deeper plays. Gore was limited as a rusher and a receiver, running for just 30 yards on 11 carries in the first half and just ten more after halftime. His first catch came after halftime, when he added five catches for only 28 yards.

Rookie TE Vernon Davis filled in for the injured TE Eric Johnson, but he had just one catch for 21 yards in the final period.

San Francisco struggled overall with just 57 yards rushing and 171 yards passing. Only four receivers caught a pass on a forgettable day.

New Orleans Saints

RB Reggie Bush won in a landslide in his first Bush vs. Gore matchup, as there were no hanging chads in this victory. Bush ran for three touchdowns and added a fourth receiving for the biggest game of his young career. Bush became the first player in the Super Bowl era (since 1967) to rush for three touchdowns and also have 100 or more receiving yards.

WR Marques Colston was inactive in Week 13, and WR Devery Henderson started in his place. Henderson did have two catches, but he dropped three more that would have added roughly 50 more yards to his total. WR Joe Horn had but one catch but injured his groin and had to leave the game.

QB Drew Brees adapted to the loss of his receiving corps, reallocating his passes to his next playmaker, Reggie Bush. Bush delivered for 131 of Brees’ 186 passing yards and his only touchdown pass against San Francisco. Bush had a long 74 yard catch and run (mostly a run after the catch) and fumbled away the touchdown out of bounds, but Bush later converted the touchdown on the ground.

RB Deuce McAllister continues to shoulder the workload as the primary ball carrier, rushing 26 times for 136 yards, over five yards per carry.

What you ought to know

QB Alex Smith, Pass: 14 - 28 - 171 - 1 TD / 3 INT

Smith was not very effective in moving the 49ers’ offense, as he completed just half of his attempts. Smith threw deep often to his favorite target, WR Antonio Bryant, but they connected just once on a broken coverage by the Saints that ended with the only San Francisco touchdown of the game. Smith’s only other pass for more than 20 yards went to rookie TE Vernon Davis, who ran a nice 21 yard down and out in the fourth quarter.

Smith tried to force the ball deep often to Bryant, but the net results were often counterproductive. The Saints covered Bryant well and ended up with three interceptions on deep attempts towards him, which prevented the 49ers from coming back on the scoreboard. Without deeper completions, Smith was reduced to short passes to RB Frank Gore (5-28) and WR Arnaz Battle (4-43), as only four 49ers caught passes in Week 13.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 13 - 40 - 0, Rec: 5 - 28 - 0 (7 targets)

Gore’s rushing in Week 13 was severely restricted by a stout New Orleans defense in the first half, as he gained only 30 yards on 11 carries. With San Francisco trailing in the second half, he had just two more carries in the third quarter and none in the fourth, as his only contributions to the 49ers came as a short pass receiver out of the backfield. Gore’s first catch did not come until the third quarter, but he did finish with five catches on seven targets, all of them going for seven yards or less.

RB Maurice Hicks, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0

Hicks had just one carry for five yards in the first quarter when he came in for one play to give Gore a rest.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 4 - 43 - 0 (4 targets)

Battle caught all four of his targets in Week 13, starting with two short range catches for a combined 22 yards and two first downs in the first quarter. He added a 14 yarder on third down and long (21) in the third quarter, then closed out his production with a short seven yard catch on his only fourth quarter target.

WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 4 - 79 - 1 (13 targets)

Bryant continued to be QB Alex Smith’s favorite target, having 13 balls thrown his way. The 49ers attempted to stretch the field often with Bryant, including a flea flicker that was thrown into heavy coverage in the first quarter. He was targeted for 20 yards or more seven times, but he only caught one deep ball in the third quarter on a blown coverage by New Orleans. A wide open Bryant walked into the end zone for a 48 yard touchdown, but that would be his last catch of the game. Two of his three fourth quarter targets were intercepted as the Saints blanketed Bryant well all day.

Bryant had two first quarter catches for ten yards and seven yards, followed by two more catches in the third quarter. Both of his catches in the third, a 14 yard catch and his touchdown, produced first downs.

WR Bryan Gilmore, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0

Gilmore ran one end around coming from a handoff by RB Frank Gore who had taken a direct snap in the first quarter. The trick play was Gilmore’s only touch for the game, as he was not thrown to as a receiver in Week 13.

WR Delanie Walker (1 targets)

Walker played some in Week 13 as TE Vernon Davis was working his way back into the lineup and TE Eric Johnson was out with an injury. Walker was primarily a blocking tight end, but he did get two balls thrown in his general direction against the Saints. Both plays were on scramble roll outs by QB Alex Smith, and neither ball came close to him. The official scorer gave the first target to WR Antonio Bryant, as the ball sailed over Walker’s head and landed a few yards in front of Bryant.

TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 1 - 21 - 0 (3 targets)

Rookie Vernon Davis returned to the lineup, and his activity increased right away with TE Eric Johnson out with an injury. Davis was thrown to in the end zone in the first quarter on a 24 yard pass from QB Alex Smith, but the ball was thrown over his head. Davis ran a nice 21 yard down and out in the fourth quarter for his only catch of the game. His third and final target drew a 27 yard pass interference penalty.

PK Joe Nedney 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points

Nedney kicked a short 29 yard field goal in the first quarter and later added a single extra point on his only attempts in Week 13.

SF Rush Defense

RB Reggie Bush ran for three touchdowns and RB Deuce McAllister averaged over five yards a carry as he racked up 136 yards. The Saints controlled the ground game and produced at will against San Francisco, collecting 11 first downs on the ground.

SF Pass Defense

The 49ers were successful in limiting the Saints’ wide receivers to four catches for 36 yards, but they struggled to contain RB Reggie Bush out of the backfield. Bush led the Saints with nine catches and over 100 yards receiving, including the only touchdown, and he easily could have added a second one. San Francisco forced no turnovers and recorded just one short sack in the game.

QB Drew Brees, Pass: 17 - 28 - 186 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 14 - 0

Drew Brees started out the game against San Francisco trying to establish a passing game, but without his favorite target once again, rookie WR Marques Colston, the air attack struggled. Brees targeted replacement starter WR Devery Henderson six times in the first half, but his three drops severely limited the offensive production. Adding to that issue was the loss of WR Joe Horn, who appeared to aggravate his groin after his first and only catch and left the game after just one quarter.

Brees improvised as he is known to do and just changed the game plan. He threw to his next best playmaker, RB Reggie Bush, who became the primary target for the rest of the game and he delivered over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. Most of Brees’ yardage and his only touchdown were to Bush, as the 49ers struggled to contain the rookie running back.

RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 26 - 136 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

McAllister continues to be the primary ball carrier for the Saints, as he had 26 carries for 136 yards, averaging over five yards per carry. McAllister was the workhorse in the second half as the Saints tried to run the ball right at the 49ers, which they did successfully and controlled both the game and the clock in the process. Ten of McAllister’s carries were for five or more yards, including four for over 10 yards. The first was reduced to just a five yard carry due to a penalty, but his later carries of 17, 11 and 18 yards all remained official.

RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 10 - 37 - 3, Rec: 9 - 131 - 1 (9 targets)

Reggie Bush had a record setting game in Week 13, as he ran for just 37 yards but three touchdowns and added 131 more yards receiving and a fourth score. He pounded the ball well in the red zone, moving piles and then either leaping over the line or running quickly outside to get the ball across the goal line at the corner of the end zone.

Bush caught all nine of his targets, including a 74 yard short catch and long run where Bush really should have scored but he hit his own facemask with the ball and it popped out of his hands. He later scored on the same drive so he still had the touchdown, but that was his only mistake of the day.

RB Mike Karney, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Karney had two carries and one catch in Week 13, all combined for just eight yards. His contributions were minimal against San Francisco.

RB Aaron Stecker (3 targets)

Stecker was targeted three times in the first half on short passes out of the backfield. He dropped the first pass on a short toss to the right flat, but the next target was just a throwaway by QB Drew Brees. The third and final target drew a penalty as Stecker was held on the short pass play.

WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (6 targets)

Henderson was targeted six times in Week 13 as he started the game for the injured rookie WR Marques Colston. Henderson had troubles catching the ball all game, as he dropped three balls that added up to about 50 combined yards. He did catch two short passes for a total of 14 yards in the second quarter, but he let many more yards slip through his fingers. All of his targets came in the first half.

WR Joe Horn, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets)

Horn caught one pass for 18 yards near the end of the first quarter, but he slid down and injured himself on the catch. He attempted to come back into the game but was unable. Horn was reported in the game to have strained his groin.

WR Jamal Jones, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Jones caught his second pass of the season in Week 13, a short four yard catch in the second quarter on his only target.

WR Marques Colston

Colston was inactive in Week 13 with an ankle injury.

TE Mark Campbell, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (4 targets)

Campbell caught two short passes for a combined 10 yards on his first two targets against the 49ers. He had two more passes come his way, but he whiffed on the first short catch and his fourth and final target was thrown too high for him to make a play.

TE Billy Miller (1 targets)

Miller had one target in Week 13, a pass in the end zone that was tipped away by the 49ers’ defense in the third quarter.

PK John Carney 2 - 2 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points

Carney converted 100% of his kicks, including two short field goals of 19 and 33 yards to go along with his four extra points.

NO Rush Defense

RB Frank Gore’s production was kept to just 30 yards in the first half, and the 49ers trailing on the scoreboard forced them away from the ground game after halftime. San Francisco ran just 15 times for 57 yards and only three rushing first downs.

NO Pass Defense

The Saints took away the deep passes from San Francisco, collecting three interceptions on deep attempts to WR Antonio Bryant. Their coverage broke down once as Bryant escaped with an easy 48 yard touchdown, but QB Alex Smith had less than 200 yards passing and completed only half of his 28 attempts and was sacked four times. The constant attempts at deep passes led to three interceptions, two by CB Mike McKenzie.