49ers vs. Saints third-quarter thread: Can the defense keep their second-half streak alive?

The defense dominated the Saints in the first half. New Orleans had 19 plays before the two-minute warning and has only picked up three first downs. The defense forced back-to-back three and outs. Mixed in, there was a great challenge by Shanahan that negated a 30-yard reception from Chris Olave.

That would’ve given the Saints the ball inside of the red zone and a chance to tie. Instead, New Orleans had to punt.

The 49ers had a drive over six minutes and 11 plays but ended up getting stopped on fourth down. You know things are going well when you have an 11-play drive and only have one first down. Still, the fourth down call was puzzling.

Some will complain about the team being in shotgun, but I think Shanahan didn’t like his odds after New Orleans got a push-up front. So, he passed it. Or attempted to, at least. Garoppolo couldn’t find an open receiver and tried to put his head down and score but to no avail.

Jauan Jennings took over on the final drive to put the team up 10-0 heading into halftime.