Derek Carr Leads 95-Yard Touchdown Drive, but Saints Fall to 49ers

SF 49ers

By Associated Press

Published 3 months ago on

August 19, 2024

Derek Carr and the New Orleans starting offense finally got going with an efficient 95-yard touchdown drive against San Francisco's backup defenders but the 49ers beat the Saints on Sunday night. (NFL)

Carr completes 5 of 6 passes for 42 yards on Saints' lone scoring drive, capped by Hill's 1-yard TD run on fourth down.
49ers rest most starters, struggle offensively with Purdy at helm, but backups Dobbs and Allen show promise in QB competition.
Saints' backup QBs Rattler and Haener struggle, while 49ers' defense holds strong despite playing mostly second-string players.

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SANTA CLARA — Derek Carr and the New Orleans starting offense finally got going with an efficient 95-yard touchdown drive against San Francisco’s backup defenders but the 49ers beat the Saints 16-10 on Sunday night.

“It’s always hard in the preseason because you’re just calling kind of the basic stuff. No one wants to show anything,” Carr said. “But the competitor in you still wants to go out there and compete and make something happen. So being able to go down, get a touchdown punched in. It definitely was like a monkey off the back, kind of a relief. We can score. It definitely felt nice to do that.”

Joshua Dobbs ran for a TD and Jake Moody kicked three field goals for the 49ers (1-1), who rested most of their front-line players other than quarterback Brock Purdy.

Up Next

Saints: Head home after training camp in California and will host the Titans on Sunday.

49ers: Visit the Raiders on Friday night.

49ers Rest Key Players, Struggle on Offense

The Niners were missing three starting offensive linemen, their top four receivers, their top three running backs, All-Pro tight end George Kittle and All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk either because of injuries, contract disputes or rest.

That left Purdy playing his three series with a collection of mostly backups. The results weren’t good as the Niners generated one first down and had two three-and-outs.

Purdy went 2 for 6 for 11 yards and was lucky to avoid an interception when he threw a ball up for grabs that backup tight end Eric Saubert broke up for an incomplete pass.

“I think it was good just to get out there, get a feel for the game speed and getting hit and trying to go through reads and stuff and just get the feel again,” Purdy said. “Obviously it wasn’t as productive as I would have liked it to have been, myself. But that’s why it’s preseason. Get out there and get a feel for it.”

Saints’ Offense Finds Rhythm Late

Carr and the Saints’ starting offense also started slowly with back-to-back three-and-outs against mostly backup defenders for San Francisco before putting together their first successful drive of the preseason.

The offensive line opened up holes for the running game and Carr completed 5 of 6 passes for 42 yards, including a 7-yarder to rookie Bub Means on a fourth-and-5.

Taysom Hill capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

“I thought we had a really nice long drive,” coach Dennis Allen said. “I thought we ran the ball well in that drive and we were able to convert that with a red zone score. I was really pleased with overall what we were able to get.”

Carr finished the night 7 for 9 for 47 yards and is now 9 for 15 for 59 yards in his first two preseason games under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

The New Orleans (1-1) backup quarterbacks didn’t fare nearly as well with rookie Spencer Rattler going 4 for 8 for 27 yards with a lost fumble and second-year player Jake Haener going 7 for 13 for 76 yards.

49ers’ Backup QBs Show Promise

After Purdy’s ineffective start, the Niners turned the offense over to Dobbs and Brandon Allen, who are battling for the backup job.

Dobbs led a TD drive at the end of the first half with an 11-yard scramble, a perfectly placed 38-yard throw to Jacob Cowing and a 1-yard TD run on fourth down.

“He did a good job,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He led us on a few drives, scoring drives. Made a couple of plays when nothing was there.”

Allen had two drives with one ending in a punt and the other a missed 51-yard field goal by Moody.

Injuries

Saints: Rookie CB Kool-Aid McKinstry left in the first quarter with a knee injury that is not believed to be serious. … TE Dallin Holker sprained his ankle in pregame warmups and didn’t play.

49ers: Newly signed DT Nick Williams injured his knee in the first half. … RB Jordan Mason (sore hip), LB Dee Winters (bruised knee) and WR Jauan Jennings (oblique) didn’t play because of minor injuries.