Niners edge Saints 48-46 in thrilling NFC showdown

Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes and Robbie Gould kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired as the visiting San Francisco 49ers defeated the New Orleans Saints 48-46 in an NFC showdown Sunday afternoon. Garoppolo completed 26 of 35 passes for 349 yards and drove the 49ers 63 yards in the final minute after Drew Brees had given the Saints a one-point lead with his fifth touchdown pass.

On fourth-and-2, Garoppolo threw a 39-yard completion to George Kittle to get Gould in range as the 49ers (11-2) moved ahead of the Saints (10-3) in the NFC seedings. Seattle (10-2), which visited the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, holds the tie-breaker over the 49ers, whom they meet in the regular-season finale.

Emannuel Sanders caught seven of Garoppolo's completions for 157 yards and a touchdown and also threw a touchdown pass of his own. Brees completed 29 of 40 passes for 349 yards. Michael Thomas caught 11 passes for 134 yards and a score.

The Saints led for most of the first half, but the 49ers scored in the last minute of the second quarter to take a 28-27 halftime lead. Wil Lutz's 55-yard field goal put New Orleans back on top before Garoppolo threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kittle. Lutz added a 48-yard field goal to cut San Francisco's lead to 35-33 after three quarters.

Garoppolo's 6-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne gave the 49ers a 42-33 lead with 8:59 left. Brees came right back with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Thomas with to make it 42-40, but the 49ers answered with Gould's 41-yard field goal and a 45-40 lead with 2:28 to play.

Brees then drove the Saints to a go-ahead 18-yard touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith with 53 seconds left. A two-point conversion failed, leaving New Orleans with a 46-45 lead. Brees threw two touchdown passes to Jared Cook and one to Josh Hill and leaped 1 yard for first-half touchdowns. Garoppolo threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Bourne and a 75-yarder to Sanders and Raheem Mostert caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Sanders and had a 10-yard scoring run to give San Francisco a 28-27 halftime lead.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)