The 49ers won in large part because of Kaepernick, but also benefited from a rare bad mistake by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees near the end of the first half.
Many of Kaepernick’s big plays early on came outside of the structure of the offense. But a defense can’t give Kaepernick a quickly defined throw, or he will hit it. He did that on a 10-yard touchdown to Anquan Boldin on a third and 5. Here’s another play that is a great example of what Kaepernick can do when he’s presented with a defined throw based on coverage:
On second and 12, the 49ers ran an empty set for the first time in the game, with “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends), and Boldin in the slot to the boundary. The Saints played “quarters” zone coverage behind a four-man rush. Kaepernick had a quickly defined throw to Boldin and made a great pass. That’s when he can perform effectively from the pocket.
This was just one of many nice plays Kaepernick made, but he saved his biggest play for near the end of regulation. His signature play in this game came from outside of the pocket, and it was due to a coverage mistake by the Saints.
On fourth and 10 with 1:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Saints played “Cover 2” zone behind a four-man rush. Edge pressure by Saints linebacker Junior Galette forced Kaepernick to move to his right.
Safety Kenny Vaccaro reacted to tight end Vernon Davis at the intermediate level, and abandoned his deep half responsibility in “Cover 2.” When a quarterback breaks the pocket, a “Cover 2” safety has to hunt up the first receiver to his side and play him man-to-man. Instead, Michael Crabtree got behind Vaccaro. Kaepernick made a phenomenal throw for the 51-yard gain, but it resulted from a coverage mistake by Vaccaro.
It’s also worth looking back at Brees’ interception before the first half, because it did cost the Saints at least a field-goal attempt in a game that eventually went to overtime. And it was a terrible decision.
With 17 seconds left in the half, on second down, the Saints ran four vertical routes. Brees pumped right and came back left to Jimmy Graham on a seam route. The 49ers were in “Cover 3” zone. Single-high safety Antoine Bethea was on the hash on Graham’s side, slot cornerback Perrish Cox was aligned over Graham, then widened at the snap to allow cornerback Chris Culliver to drop deep and squeeze inside on Graham. Also, linebacker Michael Wilhoite ran down the seam with Graham. The 49ers had Graham tightly covered. There was nowhere for Brees to put the ball. It was a badly forced throw in a critical situation.
Brees made some critical mistakes in this game, including that interception and the fumble at the end in overtime. The 49ers took advantage of them, and their own quarterback made some big plays himself to help get San Francisco a big win.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
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