Breaking it Down: The 49ers Game-Winning TD Pass

When is it ok for a grown man to cry? When he is 6'3'', 250-pounds

While San Francisco 49ers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman received a lot of credit for calling the gutsy quarterback sweep that put the 49ers ahead with a little over two minutes remaining, it was Quarterbacks Coach Geep Chryst (the brother of recently hired Pittsburgh Head Coach Paul Chryst) who called all of San Francisco's two-minute plays against the Saints, including the game-winning touchdown pass from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis that clinched a 36-32 victory over New Orleans and a berth in the NFC Championship.

Chryst emphasized this specific play throughout the practice week to beat the Saints' tendency to run a form of Tampa 2 coverage in the red zone. He specifically knew the backside safety would play flat footed, two-yards deep in the end zone.

The design was pretty simplistic on the 49ers part. It was the execution on the end of Smith and Davis that was flawless. Couple this with the lack of execution from New Orleans' defense and San Francisco came up with a play for the ages.


On 3rd and 4 on the Saints' 14-yard line and with 14 seconds remaining and one timeout, San Francisco came out in a 2x2 shotgun formation with running back Frank Gore flanking Smith on the left side. Tight ends Vernon Davis (85) and Justin Peelle (81) lined up on the left. Davis had a tight split and was on the line of scrimmage, while Peelle was tight to Davis and off the ball. On the right side of the formation wide receivers Michael Crabtree (15) and Kyle Williams (10) were split wider. Crabtree is the #2 receiver on the ball and Williams is outside the numbers off the ball.

To the playside, Davis cleared and ran a post/dig while Peelle ran a curl route.
On the backside, San Francisco ran a typical smash route with Crabtree running the corner and Williams running the hitch.
New Orleans' defense came out just like Chryst thought.



As the play unfolded, the offensive line protected against the three-man rush with tackles Joe Staley and Anthony Davis handling the defensive ends and center Jonathan Goodwin holding ground against the nose. Gore moved immediately across Smith and helped out on the DE.

On the backside, Crabtree's corner route is well covered by safety Malcolm Jenkins. Williams was open on the hitch because the CB sank with the Crabtree.

The Tampa 2 MLB opened up to the two-receiver side and ended up covering grass. The LB lined up closest to the line of scrimmage stepped up and spied Alex Smith.

To the playside, CB Patrick Robinson bailed outside of both routes and was a non-factor in the play. Linebacker Scott Shanle backpedaled underneath Davis' route and over the top of Peelle's route, but he stared directly at Smith. He had no clue where Davis was behind him.
Davis ran a perfect route in between Shanle and safety Roman Harper.

Instead of playing it safe and hitting an underneath route (which would have undoubtedly forced the 49ers to use their final timeout and kick a field goal despite the fact that they would have a fresh set of downs), Smith went for the home run and rifled the ball to Davis on the post. Harper broke well on the pass, but Davis' body positioning and ability to absorb the hit placed him on a pedestal with San Francisco heroes Dwight Clark and Terrell Owens and propelled the Niners to the NFC Championship game this week.

So where did the 49ers go right and where did the Saints go wrong?

Well, the Niners had the perfect play call against the defense they expected to see. They relied on the Saints' tendencies to call the play and the execution was perfect.

New Orleans should have been in a better defensive call, especially since Davis had shredded them all day. Peelle, a third-string tight end, should have been manned up while Davis should have been bracketed underneath and over the top. Shanle ends up letting Davis right behind him, doesn't ever collision him and lets the underneath route influence him.

With 14 seconds left, Shanle should have never allowed Davis behind him, into a one-on-one situation with a safety. He may have just been doing this job, which puts the onus back on Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams. Williams is known as an aggressive play-caller who never saw a blitz he didn't like. But, when it boiled down to it, he was out-coached by the 49ers' offensive staff.