Five reasons 49ers could upset surging Saints on Sunday
Five reasons the 49ers could defy the odds and upset the 6-2 Saints on Sunday.
Before we begin, I fully recognize that there is little hope among much of the 49ers Faithful in a win Sunday over the 6-2 New Orleans Saints.
But my job is to give you five reasons San Francisco can win, and that is what I am here to do.
New Orleans definitely will be motivated to avenge what was one of the games of the year in 2019, a 48-46 shootout win for the 49ers at the Superdome that was set up by George Kittle's gladiator-like run after the catch, followed by Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal.
Both Kittle and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo won't play Sunday, and the 49ers are double-digit underdogs for the first time since 2018.
Nevertheless, here are five reasons the 49ers could shock the NFL world and upset the surging Saints.
As mentioned above, the 49ers won a barnburner over Drew Brees and the Saints' high-powered offense last season, as Garoppolo and coach Kyle Shanahan's offense put up over 500 yards and nearly 50 points in the Big Easy.
New Orleans will have revenge on its mind, especially after losing in the wild card round of last year's playoffs while having to watch the 49ers earn a bye and then advance all the way to Super Bowl LIV.
Perhaps a pre-game beignet will be just the thing the 49ers need to re-ignite the offense and bring a little deja vu to the Superdome for the Saints.
After one of the more injury-riddled campaigns for any NFL team in recent memory, the 49ers' bye week finally is on the horizon, and will begin after Sunday's game.
The 2019 season saw the 49ers get one of the earliest byes in the league, getting Week 4 off.
Although there likely are fewer vacations planned than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, players, coaches and team staff will be motivated to start their time off with a big road win.
Alvin Kamara has become one of the NFL's top running backs, and leads the NFL with 1,036 yards from scrimmage so far this season.
But in last year's duel with the 49ers, Kamara couldn't get anything going, finishing with just 25 yards on 13 carries. Normally as much a threat in the passing game as the run, Kamara had just four receptions for 18 yards.
Fred Warner and the 49ers' defense (what's left of it) will have Kamara at the center of their gameplan, and being able to limit him as they did last season could throw a major wrench into the Saints' offensive attack.
One thing you don't want to give a genius-level game planner like Kyle Shanahan is time to prepare, but that is exactly what the 49ers had after playing the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in Week 9.
San Francisco got a full 10 days to watch film and strategize about how best to attack and defend against this Saints team.
In a matchup with another high football-IQ head coach on the other sideline in Sean Payton, the chess match between these two will be fascinating to watch.
There isn't a high probability that the 49ers will be one of the seven (or potentially eight) NFC teams to earn a playoff berth this season, and if you're like the many hoping the 49ers draft a replacement for Jimmy Garoppolo in April, you might even be rooting for the 49ers to end up with a worse record, and thus a better draft slot.
But there remains a path (albeit a narrow one) for the 49ers to earn a playoff berth, especially if the postseason is expanded.
Plenty of external factors stand in their way, but the 49ers could get that push back on track with a win Sunday, and maintain some semblance of hope at another playoff run.
