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The San Francisco 49ers may have had a few statement wins this season, but few are going to come close to their epic 48-46 back-and-forth Week 14 clash on the road against the New Orleans Saints.
And when the Saints appeared to seal the win in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tight end
George Kittle combined for an epic drive with less than a minute remaining to put kicker Robbie Gould in position to kick the game-winning field goal.
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said it best after the Niners' 11th victory of the year.
"That was a dogfight," the veteran told reporters after the game. "I'm tired. ...I've never been so excited about a five-hour plane ride. I'm going to take a good nap there."
Sanders has plenty of reasons to be tired. After all, he hauled in seven catches for 157 yards and a touchdown, which played a huge role in San Francisco being able to offensively match what quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints were doing on the opposite end.
But Sanders also managed a bit of trickery, too, tossing an incredible
35-yard touchdown on a trick play to a wide-open running back, Raheem Mostert, at the six-minute mark of the second quarter:
"We ran it like five times [at practice]," Sanders added about the play. "The last time we ran it, I actually threw a duck. I was like, 'man, don't throw a duck in the game' because that's going to be on ESPN's
not top 10. I was able to execute it today.
"After I threw the pass, I knew Kyle [Shanahan] was like, 'please don't throw a duck again.' After I threw it and saw he caught it, I just put my hands up and was like, 'yeah, that felt good.'"
Sanders and the 49ers offense accumulated 516 net yards, which was just enough to beat the Saints' 465 total yards. And the back-and-forth nature of the game was reason enough for Sanders and the rest of his teammates to be exhausted, both emotionally and physically.
Don't worry. Niners fans are probably feeling the same way, too.
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Written by:
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
Kellen Mond has found a new NFL home, albeit not with the San Francisco 49ers, the team he had recently expressed hope of joining. The New Orleans Saints have announced the signing of the veteran quarterback.
The Saints have signed QB Kellen Mond pic.twitter.com/BGOd7pnU45— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) April 12, 2024
On Wednesday,
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
