Three Keys For an Upset Win for the 49ers

With everything against them, here are three keys to a 49ers win against the Saints Sunday afternoon heading into their bye week.

The San Francisco 49ers (4-5) head to The Big Easy Sunday afternoon to play the New Orleans Saints (6-2) in a rematch of what many consider last season’s best regular season game.

The 49ers came away with the 48-46 victory after 49ers tight end George Kittle made a career-defining play, catching a 4th and 2 conversion from Jimmy Garoppolo and carrying three Saints defenders to the 30-yard line. Kicker Robbie Gould ended the game with a field goal in what was a signature win for the 49ers at the time.

Things will look much different this Sunday. The 49ers will be without their main contributors from last year’s game on both sides of the ball. Garoppolo, Kittle, Raheem Mostert, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa will all miss this game due to injury, not to mention former 49ers wideout Emmanuel Sanders, who had a phenomenal game in this matchup last season, will be playing for the Saints.

The Saint are 9.5 point favorites on Sunday and, although things may not look favorable for the defending NFC champions, here are three keys to the game that could lead to an upset win for the 49ers, or at the very least, allow for them to compete on Sunday.

1. Make the Saints one dimensional offensively

Anyone who watches the NFL knows how dynamic the Saints offense can be week in and week out. With the likes of Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Taysom Hill and Jared Cook at their disposal, they can match up offensively with any team in the league. This was evident in the 38-3 win last Sunday night on the road against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Brees had arguably his best game of the season so far.

If the 49ers want to limit what the Saints could do to them knowing what happened last week, they must make the Saints one dimensional. By no means will that be an easy feat, but if they are able to make the Saints more predictable offensively, they will have a better chance of controlling the Saint’s potent offense.

This most likely will come in the form of stopping Kamara and Latavius Murray in the running game. The 49ers rank 21st in rushing yards per game according to ESPN and rank 8th in passing yards given up. With this in mind, if the 49ers can stop the dynamic duo of Kamara and Murray, they will have opportunities to force Drew Brees into making tough, predictable throws, potentially leading to turnovers.

2. Don’t be afraid to be creative

Yes, the 49ers will be without their main studs offensively, but they still have one of the best head coaches in the NFL with Kyle Shanahan and weapons capable of production. Ross Dwelley has some of the most underrated hands on the team, and with the wide receiver trio of Brandon Aiyuk, Richie James Jr. and potentially Kendrick Bourne, complemented by tailbacks JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon, not to mention fullback Kyle Juszczyk, Shanahan should be able to run the offense he wants to run and not feel held back by what he has.

Nick Mullens also is getting much valued experience for what is to come in the future. Continuing to put Mullens in positions where Shanahan is challenging him to make throws down the field and use his own judgement on plays will only serve him better in the long run. Mullens has shown thus far in the games he has played this season that he is not afraid to throw the ball down field and, against a potent Saints defense headlined this week by former 49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander going against the team that traded him only a couple of week ago, this is a great test for Shanahan to see how much more he can expand the offense going forward.

3. Win the time of possession battle

Perhaps the most important key to a 49ers win Sunday is to keep the Saints off the field. This has been a key for the 49ers in weeks past, but this week provides that key to be even more important. It’s obvious logic: the less time the Saints have the ball on offense, the less opportunities they have to score. Shanahan can do that by running the ball the majority of the game, creating timely play action plays for Dwelley, Aiyuk and James Jr. to run in space. Giving the defense opportunities to rest could also lead to more blitzing from defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, potentially putting the Saints on their heels.

If the 49ers find a way to win this game with everything against them, there’s reason to think they are still a viable playoff contender this season.