The 6-3 San Francisco 49ers travel to New Orleans today to take on a 7-2 Saints team with a better record and playing on a Superdome field where they’re known to put up a ton of points. Certainly that seems like a bit of a stacked deck going into the 4:25 EST / 1:25 PST game on FOX. Yet this game has huge playoff implications in the NFC race, and the 49ers have been a difficult matchup for the Saints during the past two seasons, having won the previous two times these teams played. There are plenty of fireworks in store today if you can catch the game live on FOX, but if you can’t see it broadcast you can watch 49ers vs Saints online free using one of several different methods.
The Saints are certainly the hotter team going into kickoff today, as the 49ers lost last week against the Panthers while New Orleans put up 49 points, 625 yards and an NFL-record 40 first downs in a 49-17 rout of the Dallas Cowboys. But that was the Cowboys, and the 49ers are a much different beast. San Francisco’s defense has been able to disrupt New Orleans’ high-scoring offense, which is particularly brutal in the Superdome, where these two teams will play today. In addition, the 49ers’ multi-faceted offense, with its grind-it-out rushing game and dual-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has been able to keep the Saints’ offense led by QB Drew Brees off the field.
That will be especially important for the 49ers today, as Brees is having an outstanding year. Through nine games, Brees has the NFL’s fourth-highest quarterback ranking and has gone 247-363 for 3,064 yards and 25 touchdowns. Those are monstrous numbers, and although he certainly padded them last week against Dallas, he’s been putting up Madden NFL-like stats all season long. And keep in mind, those stats have come in spite of an offensive line that’s been inconsistent this season, having allowed 20 sacks.
Conversely, when you watch 49ers vs Saints online free you’ll want to keep an eye on 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, who’s not having nearly the season he had during last year’s Super Bowl campaign. And, since the 49ers will need to control the time of possession battle to keep Saints QB Brees off the field, Kaepernick will face more pressure in this game than perhaps any other so far this season. San Francisco’s passing attack is ranked just 32nd in the NFL, putting pressure on Kaepernick to beat teams with his legs. Kaepernick’s yardage isn’t huge, but in San Francisco’s six wins he’s had a QBR of 81.7, and he’s also been without Michael Crabtree all season.
Defensively today’s game in New Orleans should be a battle, as few defenses have owned the Saints like the 49ers have during the past two seasons. In the past six games, the 49ers have given up a total of 71 points, which almost seems like 1.5 games’ worth of normal Saints scoring. The 49ers are a ball-hawking, smart, tough defense and should give the Saints and QB Drew Brees all they can handle. This will be particularly true if rookie safety Eric Reid returns today after his second concussion of the season last week. There’s a reason the 49ers have the league’s sixth-ranked defense. Then again, the Saints are nipping their heels at number seven, so both Kaepernick and Brees will have their work cut out for them today.
You can watch 49ers vs Saints online free on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with MAX Package. The package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including today’s 4:25 EST / 1:25 PST NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.