Lost in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — The 49ers came to the Big Easy. And the New Orleans Saints made the big play look easy, all right.

The 49ers’ two-game win streak was stopped cold on Sunday, as the Saints came up with all the important plays in a 31-17 victory at the Superdome.

“We didn’t play well in any of the three areas,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “I’m disappointed in how poorly we played.”

The 49ers fell to 2-2, and retained a share of the lead in the NFC West with the Arizona Cardinals, a 56-35 loser to the New York Jets.

The Saints torched the 49ers defense with four offensive plays of more than 30 yards. Surprisingly, running back Reggie Bush was not involved in any of those long plays.

While the 49ers put all of their attention in slowing down Bush, the likes of receivers Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson — with a huge assist from quarterback Drew Brees — were having a grand ol’ time against the 49ers’ pass defense.

Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan staggered through his worst game. He came into the game with a 104.6 passer rating. He boarded the team’s charter flight back to the Bay Area with a still-respectable 90.0 rating.

O’Sullivan threw interceptions in the end zone on back-to-back drives in the second half to extinguish any hope for the 49ers. O’Sullivan completed 18 of 36 passes for 257 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

“He didn’t play well,” Nolan said of O’Sullivan. “But he didn’t stand alone.”

Yes, the defense gave up the big play. The Saints averaged 7 yards every time they took a snap. And O’Sullivan’s mistakes, including a first-half fumble, only added to the misery.

The 49ers’ pass defense had been one of the team’s bright spots. The club had allowed just 160.7 yards per game heading into Sunday’s game. However, Brees completed 23 of 35 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns. And he did it without two of his most important targets: receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Nolan said there were repeated mix-ups in the 49ers’ secondary. The Saints struck on big plays in the passing game. Henderson caught an 81-yarder. Meachem had a 52-yarder, to go along with a 47-yard touchdown catch. Moore caught two touchdown passes, including a 33-yard reception in the second quarter.

“There was not a deep pass in which there shouldn’t have been two guys on it,” Nolan said.

Safety Mark Roman had a particularly rough game, and he did not stick around to see its conclusion. When a Saints penalty gave the 49ers one last snap with :02 remaining, Roman was the only 49ers player to enter the locker room.

He didn’t miss much. O’Sullivan took a knee to run out the clock.

Linebacker Patrick Willis said the 49ers were focused on slowing down Bush, who had strong games against the 49ers in both of his first two seasons in the league. Bush became an effective decoy. He carried 10 times for 31 yards, and he caught five passes for just 7 yards.

“They get the ball to Reggie Bush,” Willis said. “That’s the thing people talked about, and that’s what we expected. But we also got to watch all 11 guys.”

Said cornerback Nate Clements, “It wasn’t so much him. We were going into the game focusing on what they were going to do. We just had a lot of breakdowns that bit us in the butt.”

The Saints gained 467 yards of total offense against the 49ers’ defense, which played five defensive backs most of the game. Deuce McAllister, who’s been slow to return from a knee injury of last year, carried 20 times for 73 yards and a touchdown. He entered the game with just two rushing attempts through the first three games.

The 49ers managed a respectable 312 total yards, but their drives repeatedly stalled deep in Saints territory.

Kicker Joe Nedney was called upon to make field goals of 47, 49 and 38 yards. The 49ers lost two additional opportunities deep in Saints territory when O’Sullivan threw interceptions. New Orleans also capitalized on an O’Sullivan fumble in the first half.

“I felt like we were prepared for what they were going to do, but we didn’t execute as well as we needed to,” said O’Sullivan, who finally got the 49ers into the end zone with a 5-yard pass to Isaac Bruce with 4:08 remaining in the game.

Said Nolan, “I thought early on we had a good plan. We drove down, we didn’t get seven, we got three instead. It was a good game for a quarter-and-a-half.”

The Saints took a 21-6 lead with 52 seconds remaining in the first half when Meachem shook loose from Roman for a long touchdown.

O’Sullivan was sacked six times for minus-36 yards. Saints defensive end Charles Grant twice beat right tackle Barry Sims for sacks.

“He played a good game,” Sims said. “Especially in the second half, he gave me some problems. We just didn’t give him (O’Sullivan) enough time. We all had our breakdowns.”

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at 49ers.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com.