MISSED FIELD GOALS—None. BY JANIE MCCAULEY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ADVERTISING SAN FRANCISCO — In one triumphant afternoon, playoff first-timer Alex Smith joined a pair of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterbacks with his own indelible postseason moment. Joe Montana had
BY JANIE MCCAULEY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — In one triumphant afternoon, playoff first-timer Alex Smith joined a pair of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterbacks with his own indelible postseason moment.
Joe Montana had “The Catch.” Steve Young had “The Catch II.” Now, Smith added another epic play to the 49ers’ storied history: “The Grab.”
Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.
“You’ve got to call it ‘The Grab,”‘ Davis said of his play. “We were down. I had to make it happen to take my teammates where we want to go.”
What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of “The Catch.”
Montana to Dwight Clark then. Smith to Davis now.
Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left and threw another scoring pass to Davis in the first quarter. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s NFC West champions (14-3) proved that a hard-hitting, stingy defense can still win in the modern, wide-open NFL by holding off one of the league’s most dynamic offenses.
“This is huge for us,” Davis said. “It’s history, legendary, anything you can describe.”
Brees completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 1:37 left, and the Saints seemed poised to rally from an early 17-point deficit when Smith and Davis delivered once more. It was a wild back-and-forth finish featuring an impressive passing duel over the waning moments.
Their highlight show came in the opposite end zone from where Clark caught a stretched-out 6-yard pass from Montana on Jan. 10, 1982. Saturday’s game-winner by a leaping Davis — who plowed over a defender as he landed — came in the same end zone where Steve Young hit Terrell Owens for a winning TD with 3 seconds left in a 30-27 wild-card win over the Packers in the 1999 playoffs. T.O.’s grab became known as “The Catch II.”
San Francisco triumphed in its first playoff game in nine years and will move on to face the New York Giants or defending champion Green Bay Packers, who play today. A win by the Giants would give the 49ers the home field.
The 49ers pulled off another last-second win in a season full of them — and on a day former coach George Seifert served as honorary captain for the coin toss. San Francisco came from behind for five victories during the regular season, four on the road.
49ers 36, Saints 32
New Orleans 0 14 0 18 — 32
San Francisco 14 3 3 16 — 36
First quarter
SF—V.Davis 49 pass from Ale.Smith (Akers kick), 2:08.
SF—Crabtree 4 pass from Ale.Smith (Akers kick), :41.
Second quarter
SF—FG Akers 25, 14:12.
NO—Graham 14 pass from Brees (Kasay kick), 9:32.
NO—Colston 25 pass from Brees (Kasay kick), 4:09.
Third quarter
SF—FG Akers 41, 10:36.
Fourth quarter
NO—FG Kasay 48, 13:08.
SF—FG Akers 37, 7:36.
NO—Sproles 44 pass from Brees (Kasay kick), 4:02.
SF—Ale.Smith 28 run (run failed), 2:11.
NO—Graham 66 pass from Brees (Sproles pass from Brees), 1:37.
SF—V.Davis 14 pass from Ale.Smith (Akers kick), :09.
A—69,732.
NO SF
First downs 26 17
Total Net Yards 472 407
Rushes-yards 14-37 22-143
Passing 435 264
Punt Returns 3-29 3-29
Kickoff Returns 5-59 2-45
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 2-41
Comp-Att-Int 40-63-2 24-42-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-27 4-35
Punts 5-45.4 8-49.5
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 3-1
Penalties-Yards 0-0 3-33
Time of Possession 31:20 28:40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—New Orleans, Ivory 9-23, P.Thomas 1-6, Brees 1-5, Sproles 3-3. San Francisco, Gore 13-89, Ale.Smith 1-28, Hunter 6-23, Ginn Jr. 1-3, Dixon 1-0.
PASSING—New Orleans, Brees 40-63-2-462. San Francisco, Ale.Smith 24-42-0-299.
RECEIVING—New Orleans, Sproles 15-119, Colston 9-136, Graham 5-103, Henderson 4-49, Meachem 3-18, Arrington 1-14, Higgins 1-10, Collins 1-8, P.Thomas 1-5. San Francisco, V.Davis 7-180, Gore 7-38, Crabtree 4-25, K.Williams 2-12, Miller 1-16, Hunter 1-13, Ginn Jr. 1-11, Peelle 1-4.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
