Hard work pays for 49ers
‘Davis Post’ proves to be game-winner for S.F.
SAN FRANCISCO — The New Orleans Saints got beat Saturday on a play that was installed Wednesday — kind of.
In the aftermath of the 49ers’ thrilling 36-32 victory in the NFC Divisional Game this much was certain: It pays to study film — kind of.
The Niners’ Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis with a 14-yard scoring pass, lifting San Francisco to the unlikely victory. The pair honed the call during the week, noticing Saints safety Roman Harper gave ground when lined up against a tight end in the red zone.
But each time Smith and Davis completed the “Davis Post”, the Pro Bowl tight end shot in from the right side.
This time, Davis came from the left, and this time it meant the 49ers, and not the Saints, advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Davis’ clutch catch came with 9 seconds remaining, and just maybe, the 49ers faithful have either quit yelling or they’ve just gone hoarse.
“It was the loudest I had ever heard a stadium,’’ Davis said.
Up there with the roar from The Catch, that 1982 Joe Montana-to-Dwight Clark playoff classic that beat the Cowboys and kick-started a dynasty?
Maybe, and one couldn’t notice the difference in the Saints’ locker room, where you could hear a bummed team drop from the playoffs.
“It’s difficult when you lose a divisional game like this,” New Orleans coach Sean Payton said.
“And certainly a guy like Vernon Davis is a heck of a player.”
Davis was the star in what can only be described as a heck of a game.
“It was us against history; that was what I was thinking about,” said Davis, as the 49ers reached the playoffs for the first time since 2002. “It was us against no, it was us against can’t. All those things and we managed to pull it off. It was a very emotional game; it was like a roller coaster.”
It appeared the up-and-down Saints had wrestled away a great triumph, rallying from a 17-point second-quarter deficit to embrace a 32-29 lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Trailing by three with an offense built low to the ground, conventional wisdom said the 49ers would reach field-goal range and aim for overtime. Then again, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh knew better versus the Saints.
So the much-maligned Smith went to work, the key play a 47-yard pass to Davis that perched the 49ers at the New Orleans 20. From there it was a spike to stop the clock and then a spike into the Saints’ beating heart.
“I knew I need to jump up and be a factor and I did it,” said Davis, who had seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. “A big-time player makes a big-time play in big-time games.
“I knew (the pass) was coming. We rehearsed it and I knew to look for the ball ... you are a playmaker you have to step up. I just kept telling myself that over and over.”
The Saints will be tortured by a continuous loop of three lost fumbles and two Drew Brees interceptions. And of possessing a three-point lead with 1:37 remaining and not sealing the deal.
While Brees has the credentials, it was Smith who surprised nearly everyone in throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for another.
“He did a great job of making passes when he needed to,” Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “Especially late in the game, a couple of throws were right on where it was tight coverage and he was able to fit it in there. He did what he had to win the game.”