The San Francisco 49ers dropped their first preseason game against the New Orleans game 24-3 on Friday night. The 49ers had trouble moving the ball and couldn't find the end zone while the Saints recorded three scores.
Both offenses struggled in the first quarter as the two teams mustered just one first down each. The Saints, however, did manage to hit a field goal to open up a 3-0 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Saints came alive in the second quarter by putting up two touchdowns (one on Joseph Morgan's 78-yard punt return and another on a 14-yard run by Mark Ingram). The 49ers responded in the final seconds of the half with David Akers' 59-yard field goal. Unfortunately, the field goal would be the 49ers' only points of the night. While the second half also saw very little offense, the Saints scored once more in the fourth quarter as Chris Taylor punched in a 4-yard run.
Neither 49ers quarterback had a very good day as Alex Smith threw for only ten yards (2-for-7) and Colin Kaepernick recorded two interceptions on his way to 117 passing yards (9-for-17). Kaepernick did have an impressive 28-yard scramble at the end of the first half to set up Akers' field goal, and over the course of the game he recorded 47 yards on six rushing attempts.
Overall, this is a game that the 49ers would like to forget. The team had only 263 yards of total offense (127 yards passing and 136 yards receiving). With their first preseason game in the books, the 49ers will look to rebound against the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 20th.