Sorry, Frisco.  Not this time.

The Saints turned the tables on the 49ers with a hard fought, last-second win.
The victory gives the Saints a two game lead in the NFC West and the best
record in the NFL.  Man, that win felt good.

The Saints' defense made the first big play of the game when Vaughn Johnson
knocked the ball loose from John Taylor, causing a turnover.  The Saints
converted the fumble recovery into a 33 yd Morten Andersen FG.  After
a Renaldo Turnbull sack of Steve Young, Tyrone Hughes returned a punt to
the SF 42 yardline.  However, the Saints' offense faltered, and Morten
missed a 53 yarder.  The Saints continued to get a lot of pressure on Young,
and forced another punt.  As a just reward for his fine running during the
ensuing drive, Derek Brown scored on a 1 yd TD run.

The 49ers switched to a series of quick passes to avoid the Saints' rush,
and eventually made a 35 yd FG.  After the Niners held and forced a punt,
Keith Taylor intercepted the ball and returned it to the SF 44.  However,
the Saints could not convert the turnover into points.  As the half ended,
the Saints were up by only 7 despite dominating most of the action.

After a 3 & punt series for the Saints, the Niners marched down the field
for their only TD of the game, a 23 yard run.  The Saints answered with
a drive of their own that culminated in a 39 yd FG.  The drive was kept
alive by a big catch by Eric Martin on 3rd & 9 (after which George
Siefert looked like he was going to explode) and a SF defensive holding
penalty on a 3rd down incompletion. 

The Saints stopped the Niners on 4th & 4 from the NO 34, but the Saints
were forced to punt one play after Hoby Brenner dropped a pass that would
have given the Saints a first down in FG range.  On the next drive, San
Francisco picked up first downs in the following situations: 3rd & 3 from
the SF 43, 4th & 4 from the NO 39, 3rd & inches from the NO 18.  Finally,
the Saints held on 3rd & 7 from the NO 12 as Vaughn Johnson's pressure
forced an incompletion.  The Niners kicked a 30 yd FG to tie.

The Saints began their game-winning drive on their own 23 with 1:08 remaining.
First came a shovel pass to Dalton Hilliard for 9, then a pass to Martin
for 15 more.  After an incomplete pass intended for Hilliard, Wilson 
scrambled to the 49er 44.  On 3rd & 2, Dalton caught a pass and fought
for first down yardage to the SF 41.  Another pass to Martin down to the
32 yardline put the game in Morten's hands with ten seconds remaining.
He nailed the 49 yd FG to win the game for the Saints.

I hope this game is a signal that the Saints have gotten over the 49er hex.
In the past, the Niners would've scored a TD instead of a FG on their
final drive, and the Saints would've been unable to answer.  For one of
the few times in their history, the Saints came through in the clutch 
in a big game.


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Frank Serpas III