The Saints given a second chance at Victory after a Controversial Play

On Sunday, The New Orleans Saints (8-2) faced off against the San Francisco 49ers (6-4). It was most definitely a close game. In the final minutes, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win. But the Saints prevailed, scoring two field goals in the final minutes to go from trailing the 49ers 17-20 to winning 23-20 just as time expired. It was a tough win.

But the most talked about incident of the game was the play that may have led to those final drives by the Saints. There were about three minutes left of play time, and the Saints were down by three on San Francisco’s 35 yard line. As the play started, Ahmad Brooks of the 49ers rushed into the backfield and completely laid out Drew Brees for a sack. Brees, still looking for a receiver, didn’t even see it coming. Brees hit the ground hard and fumbled the ball. Patrick Willis recovered it, seemingly giving the 49ers possession. It looked like this could be the end of the game, as the 9ers would likely do what they could to run the clock out. But…. Flag on the play. Brooks was called for a personal foul against Drew Brees. The Saints regained control of the ball.

It really was a violent hit. Brees was hit by Ahamd Brooks in the head and chin; his neck seemed to contort as Brooks collided with him. After the hit, Brees was crumpled on the ground with blood coming from his chin. He was fortunately able to shake it off and keep playing. But the 49ers, especially Ahmad Brooks, were furious by the call. When talking to reporters after the game, Brooks insisted that all he had done was bear-hugged Brees. He said the league had become “watered down”, meaning that too many rough contact-related penalties were being called in a sport where hard contact is necessary. Regardless, most people seem to agree that the correct call was made.

The personal foul gave the Saints a second chance. The penalty awarded them a first down and 15 yards, putting them at the 49er’s 30 yard line. The Saints were not able to do much in pushing the ball forward, but G. Hartley was able to hit a 42 yard field goal to tie the game with a little over two minutes left in the fourth. San Francisco was not able to advance the ball at all on their possession. With 1:41 left on the clock, the Saints took possession again and pushed the ball down the field all the way down to San Francisco’s 13. And with 3 seconds left, Hartley hit another field goal, this time from 31 yards, to give the Saints the win.

The Saints had started off with a 7-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. They lead throughout the 2nd, but the 49ers came back to lead the game 17-14 by the end of the Third Quarter. San Francisco hit a field goal early in the 4th for their last score. Before hitting his two pivotal field goals late in the game, Hartley had also hit one earlier on the 4th. He put up all of the Saints points in the 4th, and the only ones since the 2nd quarter. Drew Brees had a decent game, throwing for 305 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. His only touchdown came in the first quarter, but he was extremely crucial in advancing the ball down the field on all of the Saints’ scoring drives. RB Pierre Thomas contributed 49 rushing yards off 11 carries. Fullback Jed Collins scored their one rushing touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

On the San Francisco side, Kaepernick played ok, but not great. He went 17/31, with 127 yards, 2 Td’s and 1 IT. At 6-4, the 9ers will most likely still make the playoffs. However, teams that lose the Superbowl rarely go back to the Bowl the following year. The Saints are ranked 2nd in the National Conference, and still have a fighting chance of taking it all the way this season.