What the 49ers must do to beat the Saints in Week 2

Breaking down Niners-Saints.

Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs the ball during the first half against San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The 49ers limp into New Orleans without their starting quarterback or All-Pro tight end, and their Hall of Fame left tackle out of shape. Good thing they’re playing the Saints, one of the league’s least talented teams.

49ers on offense

NFL San Francisco 49ers quarterback Mac Jones | Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

With Mac Jones starting, the Niners will look to run more. The Saints' run defense looks bad on paper at 5.4 yards per carry in Week 1, but most of that was on a 52-yard run by Trey Benson. Remove that, and the Saints gave up under three yards per carry to the Arizona RBs.

The 49ers averaged under two yards per carry before contact in the opener, a sign the offensive line was losing at the line of scrimmage. However, that’s against Seattle’s top-five defense; the Niners should have an easier time in New Orleans.

The offensive line needs to pave the road to the win. Trent Williams is unlikely to be back in shape yet, so the Niners will need to run right more often than normal. They’ll hope that Dominick Puni is back to full health. They’ll need him to be a difference maker.

In the passing game, the Niners will need to utilize checkdowns, screens, and short passes to get the ball out quickly. New Orleans edge Cameron Jordan had his best game in years in the opener with 1.5 sacks. Carl Granderson also had 1.5 sacks as the Saints had five on the elusive Kyler Murray.

Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will send five-man fronts and frequent blitzes. They blitzed on 27% of dropbacks in Week 1. Kyle Shanahan will need to take that away with a horizontal game plan and quick throws.

When Jones does go downfield, he should target DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, who Arizona burned in the opener, and at safety, where rookie Jonas Sanker takes over for the injured Julian Blackmon.

The red zone without Purdy and Kittle will be a challenge. Rookie RB Jordan James is healthy now and may be the Niners' best runner between the tackles. I would utilize him in short yardage and the red zone to pick up the physical yards. The Niners had no gain on 26% of their runs in Week 1.

Saints on offense

NFL New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

New Orleans shot themselves in the foot in the opener with a league-leading 13 penalties.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler was okay, not great, against Arizona, 27-46 for 214 yards. His primary target is tight end Juwan Johnson, who had eight catches for 76 yards. Chris Olave had seven for 54. The Niner linebackers and safeties need to take Johnson away, who was a target on 3rd.

The Niner defense was helped last week by Klint Kubiak foolishly choosing not to run play action. He was 31st in play action in Week 1, New Orleans was 32nd.

Kellen Moore’s offense lacks explosiveness. The longest pass was 21 yards, longest run was 18. The lone touchdown drive was Alvin Kamara creating something out of not much for a few key plays.

The Saints need to grind out long drives, but that doesn’t work with an offense committing so many penalties. That combination led to just 13 points against Arizona.

Rattler is a surprisingly effective scrambler. He ran four times for 29 yards in the opener. The Niners will need to stay in their rush lanes and not give Rattler an opening to convert on third with his feet.

Kamara is the run game. He had 11 carries for 45 yards against the Cardinals, and that’s the Saints offense, ok not great in all aspects. They’re also hurt by injury. Tackle Taliese Fuaga will play but has a bad knee.

Since the Saints offense lacks punch, it’s paramount for the Niners to protect the ball and not set up New Orleans with short fields off turnovers.

Prediction (0-1)

I think the Niners can score early, but the key will be touchdowns, not field goals (which can now be made by Eddy Pineiro). I’d expect a mix of both as the Niners eventually pull away.

49ers 23 Saints 13