The New Orleans Saints fell 16-10 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night in Levi’s Stadium. The loss moves the Saints to 1-1 in the preseason with one game left to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The 49ers did start Brock Purdy, but not many other starters on their offense. The Saints had plenty of their starting defense in the game. New Orleans got good pressure on the first couple of drives, not allowing the Niners to move the ball.
Derek Carr and plenty of the Saints’ offensive starters played as well. They struggled, not picking up any first downs on their first two possessions as well.
On the third possession of the day, the Saints started backed up in their own territory at the five yardline. The offense orchestrated a 16 play, 95 yard drive on their way to scoring the game’s first touchdown. Carr was 5/6 on the drive and Taysom Hill cashed in with a one yard touchdown to finish things off.
The 49ers would put two field goal drives together in a row, cutting the lead to 7-6. They did so with backup quarterback Josh Dobbs leading the way. The Saints’ offense struggled once Spencer Rattler entered the game, allowing the Niners one more chance before the half. They scored their first touchdown of the day, a run on 4th and goal with Dobbs taking it in to make it 13-7 in favor of San Francisco at the half.
Rattler had a better drive on his first of the second half. Nine plays and 36 yards led to a 52-yard field goal from Blake Grupe to make it 13-10.
The rest of the second half was largely uneventful on the scoreboard. San Francisco added one more field goal, making it 16-10.
Once Jake Haener checked in, the Saints did get the ball with inside of seven minutes left trailing by six. They moved down the field, converting a fourth down and getting near the red zone. However, another fourth down ended the drive, as Haener could not connect with A.T. Perry. The Saints fell 16-10.
BIG NUMBER: 95
The 95-yard drive orchestrated by the Saints’ starting offense (at least those that played) was definitely a welcomed sight for New Orleans. They still have run a fairly vanilla version of their offense to this point, but it was nice to see Carr execute with some of the supporting cast that will be relied upon when the games start to count.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Taysom Hill
Hill lined up frequently at running back in what might be a new wrinkle for the Saints offense. He ran for 21 yards including a touchdown in this game. He figures to be a big part of the offense in 2024.
UP NEXT: The Saints will have their final preseason game next Sunday, August 25th at 1:00 PM inside the Caesars Superdome.