- [Narrator] It's January 14th, 2012.
We're at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
With 14 seconds to play, down three and facing a third down,
the 49ers need a score to keep their playoff hopes alive
without needing to roll the dice in overtime.
The Saints, meanwhile, can end this here with a takeaway
and head to the NFC Championship game themselves.
To understand how we got here
and to appreciate everything this moment represents,
we need to rewind.
(gentle music)
While moral victories are meaningless in football,
for all of these Niners,
just being in the playoffs is a huge relief.
That's especially true for their QB.
(tape whirring)
It's been nearly a decade
since the 49ers last made the playoffs.
In that time, they've flown through coaches,
their expectations have bounced all over the place,
and they've failed to finish with a winning record.
Stinky seasons do provide the ability
to draft amazing talent,
but that's been part of their issue.
When primed with the first overall pick in 2005,
the 49ers thought they drafted a franchise cornerstone
in the Wonderlic wonder Alex Smith.
Maybe they should have spent their time with the quarterback
doing things a little more quarterback-y.
If they had, they might've seen these results coming.
A rough start to Smith's career led to a rougher 2008.
He spent the year on IR
and had to listen to his general manager
talk about not wanting to pay the QB the money he'd be owed.
But Smith outlasted that GM
and agreed to a pay cut to stick around.
When it comes to on the field performance,
it's hard to place all the blame on Smith.
He'd had five offensive coordinators
in his first five years,
not to mention one of the least inspiring collections
of receivers in the league.
This team had done their QB no favors.
Enter Jim Harbaugh.
The former NFL QB
and most recently savior of Stanford football
took over barely one year ago.
Considered a quarterback whisperer,
Harbaugh was vocal about wanting Smith.
He liked what he'd seen on tape.
The first issue though, Smith had played out
his most recent contract
and remained unsigned as of early March.
That led to issue number two: another lockout.
Players were not able to use team facilities
or communicate with front offices or get new deals.
But here's how much Harbaugh liked Smith.
Coach gave his playbook to the QB before the lockout began.
Smith took that and organized sessions for the team
installing Harbaugh's offense as well as one could
without the coach being there himself.
While Smith played teacher's assistant,
Harbaugh continued to sing his praises
despite the league's attempts to silence him.
When the lockout ended, Smith agreed to a one-year deal
and won the starting spot
during a lockout-shortened training camp.
But thanks to the off-season work organized by Smith,
a two-week training camp spelled no trouble for this team.
They recovered from a week two overtime stumble
by rattling off eight straight wins.
Everyone spoke differently about Smith.
This was his team.
He was winning with intangibles, not statistics.
His IQ and leadership allowed him
to execute Harbaugh's plan beautifully.
A much more solid offensive line aided that transformation,
which then benefited the bell cow of this offense,
Frank Gore, who in his seventh year
delivered another fantastic season.
But the competent, at times explosive,
yet always stable offense,
helped their defense become elite.
In 2011, the defense made life miserable for the opposition,
particularly on the ground.
They swallowed up running backs,
they overwhelmed quarterbacks,
and they kept everyone from scoring.
This team fully embraced their new
and frankly bizarre leader.
They finally matched, then surpassed expectations,
and delivered the franchise's best season since 1997.
(tape whirring)
And now Alex Smith can steal a postseason win
for San Francisco.
The trouble is, remember the whole Niners defense
keeps everyone from scoring thing?
Well, would you look at that.
This Saints team already proved their greatness.
While their defense was nothing to sneeze at,
the offense carried this squad.
Sean Payton has served as their offensive composer,
the mastermind behind an attack
meant to overwhelm a defense.
Drew Brees is the conductor, a precision-oriented genius
who sees what's coming and adapts,
then blows the doors off of opposing defenses.
And that went on full display this season.
Two somewhat new faces helped fully unlock Payton's offense.
Jimmy Graham, a second year tight end,
became Brees's go-to guy.
The 6'7 unstoppable force proved capable of home run plays
and moving the chains at will.
Meanwhile, the 5'6 Darren Sproles,
an off season addition to the backfield,
quickly found a connection with Brees,
hauling in everything thrown his way
and setting a career high in scrimmage yards.
Those guys made life even easier for Marques Colston,
an incredible possession receiver
who mainly operated out of the slot.
This meant Brees had three safety valves,
all with big play potential.
So they've got the tools, but what about results?
Well, I'm cherry picking here,
but it's the quickest way to appreciate
what New Orleans achieve.
They did take a little time to settle into things.
Despite scoring at least 20 points
in every game of the season,
New Orleans hit the midpoint of 2011
sitting at five and three.
However, from there, all they did was win.
The biggest change came in the turnover department.
Even though they poured points on
in the first half of the season,
they gave the ball away 13 times in those eight games.
Down the stretch, that number was just six
and never more than two in a game.
And that meant Brees could finish drives
in historic fashion.
He won the NFL's Triple Crown
and shattered Dan Marino's 27-year-old record
for passing yards in a season.
While the Saints' 13-win season
wasn't enough to earn a bye,
their offense got one more tuneup on Wild Card weekend.
Detroit, or Calvin Johnson, showed some holes
in New Orleans's defense,
and the Saints actually found themselves
down four at halftime.
But five straight touchdown drives
turned this game on its head.
Sure, it's nice to stay balanced,
but when you need the win, just let Brees air it out
for 450-plus.
It really had been just that easy.
That victory meant the Saints would get a chance
to do what no Saints team has ever done:
win a playoff game on the road.
And right now they're in pretty good position to do so.
But again, how have they put up over 30 points
on a defense that allowed just 14 per game
in the regular season?
Well, I guess patience is the answer.
Remember how turnovers derailed their start to the season?
New Orleans's first four drives of the game
resulted in two fumbles, one punt, and one interception.
Most painfully, they fumbled their first drive
while knocking on the goal line.
In response, the 49ers capitalized.
Alex Smith threw for a pair of touchdowns,
then David Akers made it 17-zip
at the start of the second quarter.
Again, what does New Orleans do when in a hole?
They let Brees cook.
An 80-yard drive capped off with a Jimmy Graham touchdown.
A 66-yard drive that ended with Marques Colston.
And just like that, we had a three point game at halftime.
Neither side did much to open the second
until the 49ers reclaimed a six-point lead
with seven and a half to play.
And that sparked a proper slug fest.
In the crunch, Brees picked San Fran's defense apart.
He dinked, dunked, moved the chains.
Then Sproles did his magic.
What looked like a casual checkdown
turned into Sproles becoming an untouchable flash.
He duked through two guys, Graham bulldozed a third,
and the Saints took their first lead of the game.
In response, Alex Smith took over.
Two completions, picked up 50 yards.
And after some minimal gains on the ground,
Smith did his best Sproles impression.
Facing a stacked box, Harbaugh called a designed QB keeper,
sprinting out to the left.
And as Smith got to the corner,
the blockers took care of the rest.
Smith tightroped all this way, recapturing the lead
with just over two minutes to play.
How, oh how could New Orleans possibly respond?
It was Brees.
You know this by now.
First he went to Sproles, then he went to Colston.
And then on his 62nd pass attempt of the day,
Drew found Jimmy running up the seam.
Right here. It should be impossible to be this smooth.
All 6'7" of Graham glided through the air,
plucking the ball between two defenders coming for his head,
and somehow regained his speed
and fended off Carlos Rogers to go 66 yards.
Poof, the 49ers' lead was gone.
The Saints upped their lead to three
after a successful two point conversion.
And that's where we find ourselves now.
Three point game, overtime looming,
one last shot for the 49ers to wrap things up in regulation.
By now you might be feeling a sense of deja vu,
San Francisco down late in a playoff game
with a chance to win it.
Well, it is a situation that they've known well.
(tape whirring)
NFL history was made in this very stadium
on January 10th, 1982.
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco.
49ers down six, 58 seconds remaining,
facing a third down on the Cowboys' six.
Welcome to a different moment in history.
- [Announcer] Looking, looking, throwing in the end zone.
Oh! He caught it!
- [Narrator] Joe Montana found Dwight Clark
for one of the most iconic catches we will ever know.
It ended the Cowboys' NFC dominance
and ushered in the start of a Niners dynasty.
That play is now known as simply The Catch.
But this franchise has a flare for these moments.
Jumping ahead to 1999, again at Candlestick Park
and again the Niners found themselves down four
with eight seconds left.
Steve Young stumbled as he dropped back,
and welcome to yet another different moment in history.
Somehow in the midst of five Green Bay defenders,
Terrell Owens hauled in the game-winning score
to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive.
For this moment, the only appropriate name
was The Catch II.
(tape whirring) (suspenseful music)
If San Francisco pulls off the comeback,
they'll be adding to quite the legacy.
So, who could be in line to haul in the catch number three?
Well, all the way down here we've got Kyle Williams.
No offense, Kyle, but you'd be quite the unlikely hero.
To his left is Michael Crabtree,
the team's best receiver, but the competition is a bit weak.
There's a chance this could be the guy,
but he's been mostly held in check so far today.
Okay, what about Justin...
Nope, sorry. Sorry, not you, bud.
These three guys represent the uninspired receiving game
for the Niners today.
Yet this guy has thrown for nearly 300 yards.
How? Where?
To whom?
Oh, hey there, Vernon Davis.
(tape whirring)
A year after drafting Smith first overall,
San Francisco took Vernon Davis
with the sixth pick in the draft.
Mighty high for a tight end,
but Davis profiled as a very, very special player.
His speed was off the charts for the position,
and he immediately showcased his potential
by securing his first NFL reception for a touchdown.
There was a learning curve
and maybe a little more frustration spilling over
than one would like, but that fueled Davis to find himself
and to commit to this team.
By the time Harbaugh came on,
Davis's complete skillset helped power this offense,
which in his first career playoff game was required.
All day, Davis has been there for Smith.
The tight end opened the scoring
with a 49-yard catch and run,
making these Saints DBs look like peewee football players
and sauntering in for six.
He added gains of 20 yards, 37 yards.
Then most importantly
when the Niners found themselves down late,
he provided the spark.
After a couple of decent gains from Gore,
Smith yet again found Davis over the middle,
dodging defenders and picking up a massive 47 yards
in the blink of an eye.
Just like that, the Niners were in position to tie it up,
but also had time for more.
Gore picked up six on the ground,
Smith spiked it to stop the clock,
and we found ourselves here.
Down three, the Niners have one last shot at the end zone.
Given the Saints' ability to score at will
and the impact of another coin flip,
they want to avoid overtime.
A win here for San Francisco would send shockwaves
across the NFL.
After so many down years, they'd be back,
a conference threat led by a duo
that has begun crafting their new legacies
with each week of play.
But New Orleans has a say in that.
They should know what's coming
and could steal the win themselves with an interception.
Do that, and this team has already proved
what it's capable of in the postseason,
adding to an already historic season for the Saints.
They just need to stop the Niners,
and most importantly stop this guy,
which has proved near impossible today.
So with a trip to the NFC Championship on the line,
welcome to a moment in history.
(fans cheering)
- [Announcer] Smith on third and three.
He throws to the end zone,
and a caught is made by Vernon Davis
for a Niners touchdown!
(fans cheering)
(image clicking)
(image whooshing) (bell dinging)
- [Narrator] As always, thanks for watching.
Let us know in the comments
what reminder you wanna see next.
And if you want another story about these Niners,
Alex has you covered with Collapse.
Make sure you subscribe to Secret Base
to ensure that you'll see us very soon.
(suspenseful music)