Reggie Bush had the breakout game New Orleans was waiting for, and the Saints maintained their hold on first place in the NFL South.
Bush tied Joe Horn’s franchise record by scoring all four of the Saints’ touchdowns and gained 168 total yards Sunday as New Orleans beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-10.
Most of Bush’s gains were modest, but his stunning acceleration, fancy footwork and leaping ability were evident in all of his touchdowns and numerous drive-sustaining plays. He finished with 131 yards on nine receptions and 37 yards on 10 rushes.
San Francisco was as close as 14-10 early in the third quarter after Alex Smith connected with Antonio Bryant for a 48-yard score. But Smith was done in on two subsequent passes intended for Bryant, both of which were intercepted by Mike McKenzie and led to 10 points for New Orleans.
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Even when Joe Nedney’s kicks weren’t perfect, his lobbying was flawless in a surprising win for the San Francisco 49ers.
Nedney kicked his third field goal with 7:15 to play after convincing the officials to give him another chance, and San Francisco’s maligned defense improbably shut out the Minnesota Vikings in the final three quarters of a 9-3 victory Sunday.
The 49ers (3-5) managed just 133 total yards in a miserable offensive performance, but still eked out their third home victory with outstanding defense from the same unit that gave up 41 points by halftime last week at Chicago.
Alex Smith passed for just 105 yards and Frank Gore rushed for only 41 as San Francisco hung on for its eighth straight home victory since 1988 over the Vikings (4-4), who’ll be shaking their heads all the way back to the Twin Cities after failing to mount any significant offensive attack.
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Brian Urlacher’s one-handed interception was headed to the highlight reel as soon as he tumbled to the ground after somehow batting the ball to himself.
Urlacher’s stellar play symbolized what kind of afternoon it was for the refreshed and still unbeaten Chicago Bears – and how frustrating the day was for the San Francisco 49ers.
Wearing bright orange uniforms and showing their speed on defense and special teams, the Bears overwhelmed the 49ers from the outset. They jumped to a 24-0 first-quarter lead and 41-0 halftime cushion before coasting to a 41-10 victory Sunday.
At 7-0, Chicago is off to its best start since the 1985 Super Bowl champions won their first 12 games.
“It was amazing. Twenty-four points in the first quarter? That’s pretty impressive, especially in this league. It doesn’t happen a lot,” said Rex Grossman, who rebounded from his poorest performance to throw three TD passes.
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LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for a career- high four touchdowns and Philip Rivers passed for two scores as the San Diego Chargers hammered the San Francisco 49ers, 48-19, at Monster Park.
Tomlinson had 71 rushing yards on 21 carries and Rivers was 29-of-39 passing for a career-high 334 yards in the win.
Antonio Gates added five catches for 78 yards and a score, while Vincent Jackson grabbed a 33-yard touchdown reception for San Diego (4-1), which travels to Kansas City to play the Chiefs on October 22.
Alex Smith was 20-of-31 passing 214 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the 49ers (2-4), who will have a bye next weekend. Moran Morris and Bryan Gilmore chipped in with touchdown catches.
The Chargers got out of the gate early and often. Rivers threw a screen pass to Antonio Gates, who went the distance scoring on a 57-yard catch and run on San Diego’s first offensive possession of the contest, giving them an early 7-0 lead. Rivers was 3-of-4 passing on the six-play, 78-yard scoring drive.
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Well the 49ers defense finally made some noise, alright it is because the Raiders quarterbacks suck, but still they at least made the plays when the Raiders screwed up.
Frank Gore, Alex Smith, and Walt Harris shined today. Gore finished the day with another career high in rushing, but most importantly he didn’t fumble the ball. Smith continued to make good throws and finished the day with three touchdowns. Which is huge. But perhaps the best performance was that of Walt Harris who had three interceptions. The defense still gave up big plays when they shouldn’t have, but they played just well enough. A good team would have given them fits all day.
All in all it was another solid performance by the offense, which is the strength of this team. The defense needs to step it up to keep the 49ers in games, oh and they really need to work on short yardage situations. The Raiders defense owned them in that category today.
49ers forget to show up in 41-0 beat down from the Chiefs.
If Damon Huard keeps playing this well, the Kansas City Chiefs won’t have a quarterback crisis while waiting for Trent Green to get back—they’ll have a quarterback controversy once he does.
Huard played almost flawlessly in a 41-0 rout of San Francisco on Sunday, hitting 13 of his first 15 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns while Kansas City seized a 24-0 halftime lead en route to its first shutout in almost four years.
Green was on the sidelines for the first time after sustaining a severe concussion three weeks ago. Days after doctors cleared him to drive, he was cajoling his teammates and even appeared to be suggesting plays for his backup, who’d hardly done anything besides carry a clipboard for six seasons until Green was knocked unconscious in the Sept. 10 season opener.
Huard hit 18 of 23 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.
All the while, Green huddled with Huard and coaches after every series, sometimes even stepping onto the field with coaches as they consulted during timeouts.
Dante Hall scored Kansas City’s final touchdown on a 60-yard punt return, giving him 11 touchdown kick returns in his career.
[Full Gameday]
Another costly fumble by Gore hurts the 49ers chances.
Mike Patterson finished his stunning 98-yard fumble return at a walk, easing his 292 pounds into the end zone.
After an outstanding effort in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Eagles deserved a little rest – especially the big guy.
Brian Westbrook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, also catching a scoring pass from Donovan McNabb in the Eagles’ 38-24 victory over the 49ers on Sunday.
McNabb passed for 296 yards and Reggie Brown caught five passes for 106 yards as the Eagles (2-1) shook off last week’s embarrassing collapse against the Giants, emphatically protecting a huge lead this time with 416 yards of sharp offense.
And one kooky fumble return that will live for years on highlight reels.
Patterson, Philadelphia’s genial run-stopping defensive tackle, seized an unlikely moment when Frank Gore fumbled while trying to stretch over a goal-line pile of players in the third quarter.
Patterson scooped the ball out of the pile and lumbered away, getting to midfield before most of the Niners realized it. He eventually walked over the line for the longest scoring fumble return in Eagles history, surpassing a 32-year-old record.
The Niners also lost Gore, who fumbled at the goal line last week as well, and tight end Vernon Davis to injuries on the play.
Alex Smith passed for 293 yards and rookie Michael Robinson scored two touchdowns for the 49ers (1-2), but their good vibe from last week’s victory over St. Louis evaporated in a cloud of offensive mistakes and missed tackles.
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The Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town, and are not to happy after a tough overtime loss last weekend against the New York Giants. The 49ers are coming off a solid win against the St Louis Rams and they are looking to carry that momentum into this week’s game. Both teams are starting off the 2006 rather well. Donovan McNabb is looking like his old self and they no longer have the T.O. drama to deal with. On the other side the 49ers offense is alive and the trio of Smith, Bryant, and Gore are causing defensive coordinators to lose sleep at night. Here are some of the things to look for when the 49ers face-off against the Eagles.
[Full Story] – 49ersNews Fanhouse
The 49ers own the Rams
The surprising San Francisco 49ers put on the greater show on turf, making just enough big plays for another win over the St. Louis Rams.
Antonio Bryant caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith, and San Francisco’s defense stood strong in the final minutes of its second straight home-opening win over its oldest rivals, 20-13 Sunday.
Smith passed for 233 yards and Frank Gore rushed for 127—including a 32-yard score—as the 49ers (1-1) followed up a narrow loss at Arizona last week with a cohesive victory over the Rams, who lost at Candlestick Park last September as well.
Smith completed just 11 of 22 passes but made good throws when it mattered, while San Francisco’s defense forced Marc Bulger’s fourth-quarter fumble and made another big stop in the closing minutes.
Under new coach Scott Linehan, the Rams (1-1) no longer have the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense that tormented the Niners for so many years – and they’ve scored just one touchdown in their first two games.
[Full Gameday]
Turnovers and Warner, Fitzgerald and Boldin to much for the 49ers.
Frank Gore carried 16 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns, but fumbled to set up an Arizona touchdown. Smith completed 23 of 40 passes for 288 yards and one score.
The game was tied at 7 when Gore fumbled, then Arizona’s Gerald Hayes scooped up the ball and rambled 19 yards to the San Francisco 5. It took three tries, but James scored from the 1 for his first Cardinals touchdown.
After the ensuing kickoff, Davis fumbled and Darnell Dockett recovered at the 49ers 41. Warner’s 28-yard pass to Fitzgerald set up a 6-yard touchdown toss to Anquan Boldin and it was 21-7 with 59 seconds left in the first quarter – exciting a crowd that, for once, was fully supportive of the Cardinals.
A pair of unnecessary roughness penalties against Arizona aided a San Francisco scoring drive. Gore’s 4-yard touchdown run sliced the lead to 21-14. Rackers’ 36-yard field goal put Arizona up 24-14 at the half.
[Full Gameday]
The 49ers travel to Arizona this weekend to kick off their regular season. Everyone and their grandmother is predicting the Cardinals to christen Arizona Stadium with a win, including me. I hate to admit it but the cards – no pun intended – are not in the 49ers favor. Here is a breakdown of what to expect when each unit has the ball.
When the 49ers have the ball:
Arizona will stack eight in the box, forcing Alex Smith to beat them in the air. I expect the offense to look like it did against the Bears in the preseason opener, with more roll-outs, play action, and bootlegs. I’m not to concerned with the passing game at this time, due to the fact, that Frank Gore will find a way to get his yards. Just when you think Gore is stopped he fights for those few extra yards. Throw in rookie Michael Robinson and change of pace back Maurice Hicks and the 49ers running game will do just fine. This will open up the play action and if Smith can avoid turnovers and spread the ball around, this should keep the Cardinals defense honest. In order for the 49ers to win this game, they’ll have to win it on the ground.
[49ers Victory Not in the Cards] – 49ersNews on NFL Fanhouse
Niners finish preseason 2-2.
Michael Robinson is making a smooth transition to running back.
Robinson ran for two touchdowns in the second quarter to help the San Francisco 49ers end the preseason with a 23-14 victory over a San Diego Chargers team still searching for a backup quarterback.
Robinson was the Big Ten offensive player of the year in 2005 after quarterbacking Penn State to the conference title. Attracted by his athleticism and versatility, the 49ers picked him in the fourth round and immediately turned him into a running back.
With starter Frank Gore getting a rest to avoid possible injury, Robinson got his most extensive action of the preseason and delivered on the opportunity. He carried 12 times for 59 yards, scoring on runs of 1 and 13 yards in the second quarter.
Robinson was the offensive star for the 49ers, who made it into the end zone only once in each of the past two preseason games. Quarterback Alex Smith played only three series, completing one of four passes for 11 yards.
[Full Gameday]
The 49ers (1-2) had only 78 yards against Dallas’ starting defense, then Alex Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Vernon Davis against the second-string defense in the third quarter.
Smith left after that drive, having gone 9 of 14 for 93 yards with a touchdown and an interception on an underthrown deep pass to former Dallas receiver Antonio Bryant. Another series fizzled when Smith overthrew Davis twice in a span of three plays, the second one going so far off target that it was obviously a miscommunication.
“We didn’t play well,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “Their first group outplayed our first group. It looked like last year where we’d run around trying hard but things wouldn’t go our way. We’d like to start seeing better results.”
Nolan said his first string didn’t get enough plays, mainly because Dallas ran over San Francisco’s defense.
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