San Francisco 49ers lead against New Orleans Saints 16-10

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: Evan Anderson #66 of the San Francisco 49ers puts pressure on Jake Haener #3 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half of a preseason game at Levi's Stadium on August 18, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (P

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Derek Carr and the New Orleans starting offense finally got going with an efficient 95-yard touchdown drive against San Francisco’s backup defenders but the 49ers beat the Saints 16-10 on Sunday night.

Joshua Dobbs ran for a TD and Jake Moody kicked three field goals for the 49ers, who rested most of their front-line players other than quarterback Brock Purdy.

The Niners were missing three starting offensive linemen, their top four receivers, their top three running backs, All-Pro tight end George Kittle and All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk either because of injuries, contract disputes or rest.

That left Purdy playing his three series with a collection of mostly backups. The results weren’t good as the Niners generated one first down and had two three-and-outs.

Purdy went 2 for 6 for 11 yards and was lucky to avoid an interception when he threw a ball up for grabs that backup tight end Eric Saubert broke up for an incomplete pass.

Carr and the Saints’ starting offense also started slowly with back-to-back three-and-outs against mostly backup defenders for San Francisco before putting together their first successful drive of the preseason.

The offensive line opened up holes for the running game and Carr completed 5 of 6 passes for 42 yards, including a 7-yarder to rookie Bub Means on a fourth-and-5.

Taysom Hill capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

Carr finished the night 7 for 9 for 47 yards and is now 9 for 15 for 59 yards in his first two preseason games under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

The New Orleans backup quarterbacks didn’t fare nearly as well with rookie Spencer Rattler going 4 for 8 for 27 yards with a lost fumble and second-year player Jake Haener going 7 for 13 for 76 yards.

After Purdy’s ineffective start, the Niners turned the offense over to Dobbs and Brandon Allen, who are battling for the backup job.

Dobbs led a TD drive at the end of the first half with an 11-yard scramble, a perfectly placed 38-yard throw to Jacob Cowing and a 1-yard TD run on fourth down.

Allen had two drives with one ending in a punt and the other a missed 51-yard field goal by Moody.

INJURIES

Saints: Rookie CB Kool-Aid McKinstry left in the first quarter with an apparent right leg injury.

49ers: Newly signed DT Nick Williams injured his knee in the first half. ... RB Jordan Mason didn’t suit up after getting banged up in practice this week.