NFL Old School Game of the Week: Saints Defeat 49ers in Wild Shootout

 

Saints wide receiver Danny Abramowicz is hugged by teammate Al Dodd after one of his two touchdown catches in the 1969 49ers-Saints game.

A lot of times in football a matchup of two bad teams can produce a memorable game.

That was the case on November 23, 1969 when the New Orleans Saints hosted the San Francisco 49ers in one of the wildest games of the 1969 NFL season.

The Saints entered the game with a 2-7 record, but playing better as they had won two of their previous three games after starting the season 0-6.

The Saints were coached by Tom Fears and led by quarterback Billy Kilmer who was going to face his former team, the 49ers who had a 2-6-1 record after having a 7-6-1 season the year before under first-year head coach Dick Nolan.

A big reason for the 49ers' struggles had been quarterback John Brodie who had thrown 14 interceptions up to this point in the season.

If the 49ers were going to knock off the Saints, they would need Brodie to have a good day and limit the interceptions.

The 49ers got the ball to start the game and went on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took up nearly eight minutes and did not end until running back Ken Willard punched it in for a one-yard touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead.

The Saints would pick one 1st down on their first possession of the game before having to punt when the snap went over punter Ollie Cordill's head, who was had to run back to his ten-yard-line to get the ball and then run back to the Saints' 30-yard-line to get off the punt which went officially 16 yards to the 49ers' 44-yard-line.

The 49ers drove to the Saints' eight-yard-line as the first quarter came to a close when they decided to go into their bag of tricks for the first play of the second quarter.

As the second quarter began, Brodie took the snap and pitched it out to running back Doug Cunningham who then lofted a pass for Dick Witcher, who made a diving catch in the end zone for the eight-yard touchdown which increased San Francisco's lead to 14-0 just five seconds into the second quarter.

After an exchange of punts, the 49ers got the ball and had a 4th & 1 situation at the Saints' 45-yard-line when Nolan decided to go for the 1st down.

It didn't work as Willard was stopped for no gain, giving the ball back to the Saints at their 45-yard-line.

However, the Saints were unable to pick up a 1st down and called on Tom Dempsey to attempt a 55-yard field goal which he missed to keep it 14-0 in favor of the 49ers.

Later in the second quarter, the 49ers would drive 88 yards in eight plays, with the big play being a 38-yard pass from Brodie to Cunningham that would set up Willard's second touchdown of the game, another one-yarder to increase San Francisco's lead to 21-0 with 2:15 left in the second quarter.

49ers quarterback John Brodie completed 15 of 24 passes for 290 yards and threw two touchdowns.

Down three touchdowns, it seemed like the Saints were poised to get blown out by the 49ers unless they got something going on their next drive.

The Saints would do just that as they would travel 75 yards in five plays, culminating with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kilmer to Ray Poage to cut it to a 21-7 deficit with 1:07 left in the first half.

The Saints would force the 49ers to punt on their lost possession of the first half as Gene Howard would make a fair catch at the 50-yard-line, giving the Saints a chance at a free kick, which would allow for Dempsey to attempt a 57-yard field goal without the 49ers rushing to attempt a block since Howard had made a fair catch.

However, the strategy did not pay off as Dempsey missed the kick, keeping it 21-7 in favor of the 49ers as both teams went into the locker room for the halftime break.

The Saints would get the ball to start the second half at their 20-yard-line and come out firing as Kilmer connected with Danny Abramowicz for a 20-yard completion and then with Tony Baker for 22 yards, which lead to a 12-yard touchdown run by Andy Livingston at the end of the nine-play, 80-yard drive to bring New Orleans to within a touchdown at 21-14 with 11:01 left in the third quarter.

The momentum had turned in New Orleans' favor as they forced a 49ers punt to get the ball back at their 29-yard-line where after two running plays picked up 22 yards, Kilmer fired a bomb for Abramowicz who made the catch in the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown that with Dempsey's extra point tied the game at 21 with 7:33 to go in the third quarter.

Then on the ensuing kickoff, 49ers returner Noland Smith coughed up the football, which was recovered by Poage at the San Francisco 13-yard-line.

It only took the Saints one play to get in the end zone as Kilmer pitched the ball to Livingston, who then fired a pass for Abramowicz who caught his second touchdown in a matter of seconds to give New Orleans a 28-21 lead.

After giving up 28 straight points, the 49ers needed an answer and they would get it on their ensuing possession as they took over at their 23-yard-line.

Jimmy Thomas ran for two yards to start the drive which was followed by a 30-yard pass from Brodie to Witcher, which was then followed by a 45-yard touchdown pass from Brodie to Thomas which tied the game at 28 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

The Saints would drive into San Francisco territory only to have Dempsey miss his third field goal of the game, a 53-yarder that was partially blocked.

The 49ers were set to punt when the 4th quarter began only to have Forrest Blue's snap go over the head of punter Jon Kilgore and into the back of the end zone for a safety to give the Saints a 30-28 lead and the ball back just six seconds into the final period.

Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer completed 13 of 24 passes for 235 yards and threw two touchdowns.

The Saints would take over at their 40-yard-line and drive to the 49ers' 10-yard-line before calling on Dempsey to attempt a 17-yard field goal(The goal posts were at the goal line in 1969).

Dempsey's kick was true and the Saints now had a 33-28 lead with 12:45 left in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers would get the ball back at their 30-yard-line where it took them only three plays to get back in the end zone as Bob Windsor ran for nine yards to start the drive, which was followed by a 43-yard pass from Brodie to Thomas to give San Francisco a 1st down at the 18-yard-line when Brodie found Thomas again for a 18-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 35-33 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Saints would respond with an eight-play, 62-yard drive which ended with a 43-yard field goal by Dempsey that allowed New Orleans to retake the lead at 36-35 with 7:54 to go in the game.

The Saints were still ahead when disaster struck as Howard fumbled a punt which was recovered by the 49ers' Elmer Collett as the New Orleans 13-yard-line.

The New Orleans defense would keep the 49ers out of the end zone but off the scoreboard as Momello Gavric kicked a 23-yard field goal to give San Francisco a 38-36 lead with exactly three minutes to go.

There was still enough time for the Saints to drive into San Francisco territory as give Dempsey a shot at a game-winning field goal.

The Saints would begin their final possession at their 28-yard-line with a seven-yard run by Livingston, which would be followed a 10-yard pass from Kilmer to Al Dodd for a 1st down at the New Orleans 45-yard-line.

On the next play, Kilmer would find Dave Parks for 16 yards and another 1st down at the 49ers' 39-yard-line.

Kilmer would hand it off to Livingston, who ran for five yards, which was followed by a 19-yard completion from Kilmer to Tony Baker to give the Saints a 1st down at the San Francisco 15-yard-line.

From there, Ernie Wheelwright would take over as he busted through the middle for a 12-yard run, then punched it in for the three-yard touchdown to give the Saints a 43-38 lead with just 26 seconds remaining.

Ernie Wheelwright celebrates after his game-winning touchdown run.

The 49ers would have one last chance but Brodie's desperation pass at the buzzer would be picked off by Howard to secure the 43-38 win as the Saints completed the greatest comeback in their young history coming back from 21 points down.

The 49ers would go on to finish the season with a 4-8-2 record as they went 2-1-1 over their final four games of the regular season, but would come back and win the NFC West the next three years.

As for the Saints, they would finish the season with a 5-9 record which was their best record in their young history.

The 21-point comeback win over the 49ers as been equalized twice by the Saints as they scored 38 straight points to overcome a 21-point deficit to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 41-24 in 1987, then repeated during their 2009 Super Bowl championship season when they overcome a 24-3 deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins 46-34.