49ers at Saints: Preview, Prediction, Streaming, and more.

A rematch of the game of the year last season - only, this time, a little more lopsided.

Sir Lancelot

Nov 15, 2020

FTN Halftime Show: Find it on either of these two platforms:

Gameday

San Francisco 49ers (4-5) vs. New Orleans Saints (6-2) at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Lousiana
Kickoff: 1:25 PM PST, 4:25 PM EST
Weather: 74F clear, 13 MPH, 72% humidity, 0% precipitation
Spread: NO -9.5
Over/Under: 48.5 points
Channel: FOX, FuboTV, Streaming (in comments)
Radio: KNBR 680, KSAN 107.7, SiriusXM Channel 27
Announcers (FOX): Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis, Pam Oliver

Injury Report (will be updated):

San Francisco 49ers:

OUT:
- Tevin Coleman
- K’Waun Williams
- Jaquiski Tartt
- Deebo Samuel
- Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
- Ahkello Witherspoon (inactive)
QUESTIONABLE:
- River Cracaft
- Trent Taylor

New Orleans Saints

QUESTIONABLE:
- Dwayne Washington

(New Orleans, LA) - Last time the 49ers played the Saints, well, you know the story. One of the greatest games of the decade was played in the Superdome that game, and now, the rematch occurs - only it’s a whole lot different, on one side. The 49ers are no longer the competitive contender we saw last season due to countless season-ending injuries and high ankle sprains. Frankly, this game is likely going to be ugly. Very ugly.

The Saints are one of the most well-rounded teams in the league right now, despite Drew Brees showing a lot of regression. With Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders back in the fold, the passing offense has gotten a jumpstart they desperately needed. Worse for the 49ers, their defense just came off an incredible performance where they smothered Tom Brady, and the most stacked offense in football. Cam Jordan, Trey Hendrickson, and more are all big-time pass rushers.

They are 6th in offensive DVOA, and 7th in defensive DVOA - this is a team with not many weaknesses, outside of Drew Brees. Unfortunately for the 49ers - that won’t help them, as without a functional pass rush, this defense is going to be picked apart by the future hall of Famer. Jason Verrett will be key in slowing down Michael Thomas, which is maybe the only way to slow down the entire Saints offense. Alvin Kamara meets his match in Fred Warner - the defense is good, everywhere except the pass rush. Which is the problem.

Don’t expect a win, but this could get close. The Saints are very volatile and inconsistent, but they have missed Michael Thomas since Week 2 and only got him back last week - which could explain said inconsistency.

Jared Mayden and Daniel Helm were promoted for this game.

Check out this infographic, courtesy of 49ers communications.

Predictions by FTN Staff

SF 23 v. SEA 34- Shanafandom

Prediction: Saints win 34-23. New Orleans has gotten a lot of flack for their passing game. Michael Thomas came back last week and Sanders is off the Covid list. The defense is still good. And they are just healthier than we are. The Saints will be favored against almost every team in the league, and it’ll be hard for a banged up team to get the upset.
Player of The Game: Fred Warner. Kamara is one of the best backs in the league, and Cook is a solid tight end. Warner will be running all over the field to make his case for being All-Pro.

SF 21 v. NO 38 - Patrick Holloway

Prediction: Those three touchdowns for the 49ers will come when this game is far, FAR over in garbage time. If the 49ers pull the upset it means very little in the course of things. They do not have the depth or the roster to go deep in the playoffs and they caught the Saints on a bad day.Don't forget this is in New Orleans. It doesn't matter that the 49ers get their wide receivers back after the COVID scare. Watch this for the developmental players, that's all you're getting out of it.
Player of The Game: High Ankle Sprains

SF 11 v. NO 36 - Riqonator

Prediction: No hope remaining. Nick Mullens will have to have one of his best games ever to keep this one close.
Player of the Game: Kendrick Bourne’s dancing - it’s the only positive left

SF 28 v. NO 24 - SportyMiner

Prediction: I'm going to give Shanahan the benefit of doubt and say our awful performance against the Packers was predominantly down to missing our LT and WRs, so with TWilliams, Aiyuk and Bourne back, and with Reed on a better snap count, I'm hoping we can score more points and keep our defence off the field for longer.
However, I don't think it will be enough to prevent a loss against arguably the strongest team in the NFC and we still have enough injuries to put up another starting 22 (that would probably beat our current starting team). Mullens doesn't have the ceiling Jimmy has and showcased in our last battle with the Saints (nor Kittle pulling off one of the plays of the season). There is a scenario where we squeeze out a win, we're probably a 'trap game' for the Saints and they've lost a few of those in the recent seasons, but logic dictates something between a hard fought loss and a spanking. There's hope, just not a lot of it - we need lady luck this weekend.
Player of The Game: As the only shining star on offence, I'll shoot for Aiyuk with 2 TDs and some splash plays (note, hoping Richie James can repeat his performance from last week, pulling for him to make the most of his opportunity). Warner will continue to dominate but I suspect someone like Moseley or Greenlaw will get a lot of attention as their speed will counteract the Saints attack, so hopefully one of them will excel. Unfortunately, with Harris replacing Tartt, I think he/we get burnt a lot and that will temper any defensive POTG demonstrations.

SF 10 v. NO 21 - El Shorts

Prediction: Saints win 31-10. I’ll hop off the hype wagon after seeing such an embarrassing performance last Thursday night. The good news? At least we’ll probably be seeing actual players out there for the Niners instead of preseason practice squad guys. The bad news? The Saints are probably better than the Packers and on their home turf, with yet another score to settle from last year. I expect this game to get real ugly real fast, with Mullens getting sacked on multiple occasions and a brief Beathard appearance again. No Tartt means Cook will go off for two touchdowns, and the Niners will resume the elegant tank in the gauntlet 2.0.

Player of the game: Brandon Aiyuk - Aiyuk will crack over 100+ scrimmage yards and continue to be a lone bright spot amidst all of this despair.

5 of 5 FTN contributors pick the Saints. 76% of fans pick the Saints to win - this game does not have much to write home about, as long as the Saints don’t severely regress from last week. We will see.

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