NEW ORLEANS — A pick-6 is bad enough, but a pick-12? As in two interceptions returned for touchdowns?
Don’t ask Saints quarterback Drew Brees how he’s feeling about the 49ers’ ferocious defense, which sacked him five times and took two of his passes to the house in San Francisco’s impressive 31-21 “statement” victory yesterday at the Superdome.
The Saints entered the game riding a four-game winning streak that had gotten them back to 5-5 and within range of a wild-card playoff spot. They left checking their body parts as the 49ers mauled them every which way to improve their record to 8-2-1.
Linebacker Ahmad Brooks returned one Brees interception 50 yards for a touchdown just 22 seconds before halftime to tie the game, 14-14, and safety Donte Whitner returned a tipped pass 42 yards for a score early in the third quarter to put the 49ers on top 28-14.
“Ahmad looked like he was shot out of a cannon after he caught the ball,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
“We just put that defense in this week,” said Brooks, referring to his deep drop in what might have looked initially like man coverage but turned into a zone. “I dropped to the three-receiver side, and they ran a stick route with the tight end [Jimmy Graham]. He threw it right to me, and the rest is history.”
The defensive pressure was a great way for Harbaugh to deflect his quarterback controversy for another week. Colin Kaepernick started for Alex Smith for the second straight week and played well — extending plays with his feet and keeping the 49ers moving on a critical 16-play, 85-yard drive that ate up 9:28 and resulted in David Akers’ 27-yard field goal that put San Francisco on top 31-21 with 7:50 left.
Harbaugh refused to tip his hand about his starting quarterback for next week’s game against the Rams, but it didn’t appear he was in any mood to switch away from Kaepernick, who completed 16 of 25 passes for 231 yards. Smith has been out since suffering a concussion Nov. 11 against St. Louis, and he spent the day holding a football on the sidelines.
“Colin played well, and in a tough environment, he acquitted himself well,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll address [the starting job] at a later date.”
Doesn’t sound like a man inclined to make any changes.
The 49ers scored three touchdowns in a 3:52 span of the second and third quarters, including the two pick-6s. In between the interception returns was a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to open the second half that culminated with Kaepernick’s 6-yard swing pass to Frank Gore.
Brees said the first interception was the key play of the game because it swung the game’s momentum. Leading 14-7, the Saints got the ball back on a Patrick Robinson interception of Kaepernick at the Saints’ 44 with 38 seconds left in the half, and Brees was looking to extend the Saints’ lead with a quick strike.
“The glaring thing was the two turnovers which resulted in touchdowns,” Brees said. “That can’t happen, especially the first one right at the end of the half when you’re trying to go down and get something for your team. All of a sudden, it’s 28-14.”
The second pick-6 was less Brees’ fault. Marques Colston went up high for the ball, but safety Dashon Goldson submarined him and the ball deflected directly into the waiting arms of Whitner, who scampered 42 yards for the score.
Whitner said Goldson’s play against Colston — clean, hard and legal — is emblematic of the way the 49ers play defense.
“That comes with being physical,” Whitner said. “Me and Dashon take pride in being physical on the football field — the right way.We’re not going helmet to helmet. But when teams turn on this football film, that’s when the ‘gator’ arms start to show up. When they want to come across the middle, they’re going to think twice.”