49ers offense has best game, but defense hands the win to Saints

SANTA CLARA - The 49ers’ offense couldn’t overcome the 49ers’ defense during a 41-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints Sunday afternoon.

The offense played its best game of the season, despite committing four turnovers - two of which occurred in the red zone.

Running back DuJuan Harris gained 142 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown on a 47-yard catch-and-run down the sideline. Wide receiver Quinton Patton caught 6 passes for 106 yards - the best performance of his career. And Colin Kaepernick passed for 398 yards and posted a passer rating of 102.3.

In total, the offense gained 486 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per play. Great numbers.

But not nearly good enough to beat the Saints.

That’s because the 49ers defense was horrendous. How horrendous, you ask?

It gave up 571 yards, and allowed a running back (this week it was Mark Ingram) to gain at least 100 yards on the ground for the seventh game in a row - an NFL record.

The 49ers have lost seven games in a row, and their record is 1-7. Their defense currently ranks dead last in the NFL in points allowed, having given up 260 in just eight games. Against the Saints, the defensive problems started on the second play of the game when the 49ers were flagged for having 12 men on the field. Things went downhill from there.

During the Saints’ second drive, the 49ers defense gave up a 23-yard catch on third-and-5 to rookie wide receiver Michael Thomas, and a 32-yard catch on third-and-1 to backup tight end Josh Hill, who was wide open. The Saints finished the game ?11-for-17 on third down.

Early in the second quarter when the 49ers were trailing?14-3, the defense gave up a ?76-yard touchdown drive. And on the final play, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw a screen pass on third-and-goal from the 49ers 5-yard line to running back Tim Hightower, who got pushed from behind into the end zone by rookie 49ers defensive lineman Ronald Blair.

Then on the first play of the Saints’ next drive, the 49ers gave up a 75-yard touchdown run to Ingram. They never touched him.

“The play was called, something happened and we weren’t able to get him down,” safety Antoine Bethea explained in the locker room after the game. “Me being a post safety, I tried my best to get him down as well. Definitely a mishap on the defense, but at the end of the day we’ve got to get him down.”

When Bethea said “something happened,” here’s what he may have meant: Defensive tackle Quinton Dial let the Saints offensive line push him out of his assigned gap, which created a canyon for Ingram to run though.

Then Ingram simply pulled away from Bethea and rest of the 49ers’ defense.

“Way too many big plays,” 49ers head coach Chip Kelly said at the podium after the game. “You get them into situations where you feel comfortable. It’s third-and-long, and all of a sudden Drew just keeps hitting those back-shoulder throws. Our guys are there but they don’t make a play on the ball.”

Kelly had a point. Early in the fourth quarter, Brees threw a deep pass to Thomas, who was covered by cornerback Tramaine Brock. Brock was in perfect position to intercept the pass or simply knock it down, but the ball bounced off the back of his left shoulder and into the hands of Thomas, who made his second touchdown catch of the afternoon.

“Do you plan on making any personnel changes?” a reporter asked Kelly.

“I don’t know,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to look at who’s injured and who’s available and all those other things.”

“How much of the struggles on defense are (defensive coordinator) Jim O’Neil’s fault?” another reporter asked.

“I think it’s everybody’s fault on the defensive side,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to do a better job putting our players in position to make plays, and that’s everybody. That’s all of us. That’s me. It starts with the head coach.”

“The game plan just gets simpler and simpler and simpler,” outside linebacker Eli Harold said at his locker after the game. “The ball doesn’t bounce our way. It’s unexplainable. It sucks, dude.”

“What are the breakdowns?” Harold was asked. “Are players in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“Yeah, that’s the main issue,” Harold said. “Being just a tad bit too fast or a tad bit too slow.”

“Do you think other offensive coordinators know how to attack this defense?” another reporter asked.

“Well, I know that all of them say we’re going to start running the ball until they stop us,” Harold answered. “They should. That’s their job. I just feel like every team circles us on their calendar. That’s something we’ve got to get better at. We can’t be the target. We can’t be the laughing stock.”

On Sunday, they were.