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In Sunday’s electric matchup, San Francisco and New Orleans showed the extra gears
that other teams in the NFC haven’t been able to match. Those largely come from the
guys calling the plays—and the ones under center.

By Robert Mays | The Ringer

It’s usually easy to see an epic shoot-out coming in the NFL. When the Rams and Chiefs squared off last November, no one was shocked as the two best offenses in the league put up a combined 105 points and more than 1,000 total yards. Sunday’s clash between the Saints and 49ers, though, wasn’t billed as that sort of high-scoring affair. Both teams entered Week 14 at 10-2, but their dominance had come from having two of the most well-rounded rosters in football. With two of the league’s top-seven defenses by Football Outsiders’ DVOA sharing the field, the Vegas over/under line settled around 44.5 points. Well, so much for that. The Niners and Saints each shattered that number on their own on Sunday in San Francisco’s 48-46 win, and in the process, both teams showed that they may have a gear the rest of the NFC just can’t reach.

Full Story - The Ringer

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The New Orleans Saints went into their game with the San Francisco 49ers with an aggressive mindset, and few players embodied that approach stronger than rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris. Harris returned quietly from a hamstring injury in the Saints’ Thanksgiving game against the Atlanta Falcons, picking up just 30 yards on two kick returns and a punt return, but his numbers versus the 49ers could not have been more different.

The rookie fielded five kickoffs to gain 155 yards, a season-high. He returned a pair of punts to pick up 37 yards, his third-best mark on the year so far and his highest since Week 7’s game with the Chicago Bears, in which he gained 46 punt return yards (and lost a 67-yard touchdown return to a phantom holding penalty). Combine all of his touches against San Francisco — including a 13-yard pickup on a screen pass and an 8-yard gain on an end-around handoff — and he gave the Saints 205 all-purpose yards on the day.

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

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