49ers vs. Saints: A prospector's guide

The San Francisco 49ers look to snap a 2-game losing streak as the travel to face the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. The 49ers have never lost three straight games under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Of course, they had also never lost a home divisional game, so take what you want from that. This game will be broadcast on FOX at 10 a.m. PT, which means it is unlikely to be a national game.

This marks the third straight year the 49ers will travel to the Superdome to face the Saints. They lost 23-20 last season, and defeated them 31-21 the season before. The 49ers are a 4-point underdog right now, and will once again be without linebacker Aldon Smith, who will be serving the final game of his 9-game suspension. Tramaine Brock and Patrick Willis are the two most notable injury issues to consider for Sunday. Brock played in Week 7, but sat out Week 9 after the bye as his toe injury seems to not be quite back to normal for him. Willis suffered his own toe injury in Week 6, and sat out Week 7 and then Week 9. Brandon Lloyd (hamstring) and Dan Skuta (ankle) are both dealing with injuries as well. The first practice participation report is due Wednesday afternoon.

I have the usual rundown of information below. One thing I find interesting is that the 49ers are second in the league in time of possession. I would imagine this is due more to their defense stopping teams than a ball control offense. Nonetheless it is interesting to see where they stand in this regard. The Saints are only five spots behind them, but it's a whole 2 minutes difference in TOP.

Series Highlights
Matchups: 74
Series Record: 49ers lead series 47-25-2
49ers Away Record vs. Saints: 49ers lead series 24-14
First Meeting: 10/22/67, 49ers win 27-13, at SF
Last Meeting: 11/17/13, Saints win 23-20, at NO
Current Streak: Lost 1
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 8 (9/15/74 - 11/27/77)
Longest Saints Win Streak: 6 (10/20/02 - 9/20/10)
Most 49ers Points: 42 (11/22/93): 49ers win 42-7, at SF
Most Saints Points: 43 (11/23/69): Saints win 43-38, at NO
49ers Shutouts: 5 (Last 1/6/02), 49ers win 38-0, at NO
Saints Shutouts: None

RB Frank Gore

• Rushed for 112 yards and 1 TD vs. NO on 9/20/10. Also had 7 receptions for 56 receiving yards and 1 receiving TD on the day.

LB Ahmad Brooks

• Notched the 2nd INT and 1st TD of his career, picking off Saints QB Drew Brees and running 50-yards for the score at NO (11/25/12).

• Intercepted a pass by Saints QB Drew Brees and returned it 22 yards to set up a 17-yd. TD pass from QB Colin Kaepernick to TE Vernon Davis at NO (11/17/13). He also registered 1.0 sack, forcing and recovering a fumble on the play.

TE Vernon Davis

• Recorded 7 receptions for 180 yards and 2 TDs on the day vs. NO (1/14/12) (NFC-D). His 180 receiving yards were the most by a TE in NFL postseason history for a single-game. The 180 receiving yards were the 2nd most in a single postseason game in franchise history [WR Jerry Rice- 215 receiving yards vs. Cin. (1/22/89) (SB XXIII). Down 3 pts. with just 1:32 remaining, Davis caught a game-winning 14-yd. TD pass from QB Alex Smith.

QB Colin Kaepernick

• Had his first-career game with both a passing TD and a rushing TD at NO (11/25/12). Kaepernick finished with 27 rushing yards to go with 231 yards through the air.

2014 Statistics