Niners edge Saints in shootout thriller
Teams battling for top seed in NFC trade punches right to final whistle
Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes and Robbie Gould kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired as the visiting San Francisco 49ers defeated the New Orleans Saints 48-46 in an NFC showdown Sunday.
Garoppolo completed 26 of 35 passes for 349 yards and drove the 49ers 63 yards in the final minute after Drew Brees had given the Saints a one-point lead with his fifth touchdown pass.
On fourth-and-2, Garoppolo threw a 39-yard completion to George Kittle to get Gould in range as the 49ers (11-2) moved ahead of the Saints (10-3) in the NFC seedings. Seattle (10-2), which visited the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, holds the tiebreaker over the 49ers, whom they meet in the regular-season finale.
Emmanuel Sanders caught seven of Garoppolo’s completions for 157 yards and a touchdown and also threw a touchdown pass of his own.
Brees completed 29 of 40 passes for 349 yards. Michael Thomas caught 11 passes for 134 yards and a score.
The Saints led for most of the first half, but the 49ers scored in the last minute of the second quarter to take a 28-27 halftime lead.
Wil Lutz’s 55-yard field goal put New Orleans back on top before Garoppolo threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Kittle.
Lutz added a 48-yard field goal to cut San Francisco’s lead to 35-33 after three quarters.
Garoppolo’s six-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne gave the 49ers a 42-33 lead with 8:59 left.
Brees came right back with a 21-yard TD pass to Thomas to make it 42-40, but the 49ers answered with Gould’s 41-yard field goal and a 45-40 lead with 2:28 to play. Brees then drove the Saints to a go-ahead 18-yard touchdown pass to Tre’quan Smith with 53 seconds left. A two-point conversion failed, leaving New Orleans with a 46-45 lead.
Brees threw two touchdown passes to Jared Cook and one to Josh Hill and leaped one yard for first-half touchdowns. Garoppolo threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Bourne and a 75-yarder to Sanders, while Raheem Mostert caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sanders and had a 10-yard scoring run to give San Francisco a 28-27 halftime lead.
Drew Lock passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, Kareem
Jackson had an interception and a fumble return for a score against his former team, and the visiting Denver Broncos beat the Houston Texans 38-24.
Noah Fant had four receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an injury. Phillip Lindsay rushed for 51 yards and a score for the Broncos (5-8).
Deshaun Watson had 292 yards passing with one touchdown and two interceptions and ran for two more scores for the Texans.
Deandre Hopkins had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown for Houston (8-5).
The Broncos had not scored more than 24 points in any of the previous 22 games — easily the longest active drought in the NFL — but topped that in the first half against the Texans.
Lock connected with fellow rookie Fant on a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 92-yard drive and a 7-0 lead with 7:27 left in the first.
Four minutes later, Houston receiver Keke Coutee fumbled at the Denver 29. Linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu recovered, handed it to Jackson, and the former Texan ran 70 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Broncos made it a threescore game when Lock hit tight end Jeff Heuerman for an eightyard touchdown early in the second.
The teams traded field goals, and then Houston went for it on fourth down in its own territory, but Watson’s pass was knocked down, giving Denver the ball at the Texans’ 34.
Six plays later, Lock threw his third touchdown pass, this to Royce Freeman for three yards and a 31-3 halftime lead.
Denver got the ball to start the second half and went 57 yards in eight plays, finished with Lindsay’s one-yard touchdown run.
Houston finally found the end zone after that, needing just one minute, 39 seconds to go 70 yards, capped by Watson’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins.
Lock threw an interception on the Broncos’ next possession, and Watson had a six-yard touchdown run with 13:44 left to get within 38-17. Denver went three-and-out and Houston got the ball back at the 50, but Jackson intercepted Watson. The Broncos used up more than three minutes before punting, and Watson scored his second touchdown with 25 seconds left to wrap up the scoring.