3 Takeaways from 49ers' Week 12 Win vs. Saints

The San Francisco 49ers didn't play the cleanest game on Sunday, but they did enough to earn a 13-0 win over the New Orleans Saints. That victory, coupled with a Seattle Seahawks loss, means that San Francisco now has a one-game lead in the NFC West.

The 49ers, who have won four straight, are finding a winning formula at exactly the right time. The offense wasn't spectacular against New Orleans, but the defense did more than enough to put this game away.

While San Francisco may have a couple of concerns coming out of Sunday's victory, it got the win, and that's what matters.

San Francisco will face a much tougher test next week when the high-flying Miami Dolphins come to town, but the 49ers are now in control of their own playoff destiny. That's the most important takeaway here.

Here's what else we learned during the 49ers' Week 12 win against New Orleans.

Let's start with the negative. The 49ers' offense, which notched 317 yards but only 13 points, struggled because it couldn't get the ground game rolling. This was due in large part to injuries.

Prized trade acquisition Christian McCaffrey was slowed by a knee ailment and averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on Sunday. The 49ers got a solid 5.0 yards per carry out of Elijah Mitchell but lost him during the game to his own knee injury.

Mitchell's injury is likely to keep him out for an extended period. According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, the 49ers believe Mitchell suffered a sprained MCL for the second time this season—this one in his left knee, the earlier injury being a sprained right MCL.

"We'll see how Elijah goes," coach Kyle Shanahan said, per Wagoner. "Most likely Elijah will be out a little bit and that will give opportunities for those [other] guys."

If McCaffrey isn't at 100 percent moving forward, the 49ers could be in a little trouble. They have other backs—like Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price—and they can run the ball with Deebo Samuel. However, running first is the identity of this offense.

The run-first 49ers logged just 96 yards on the ground and 3.3 yards per carry on Sunday. That likely won't be good enough to outlast a team like Miami. Hopefully, McCaffrey will make a quick recovery.

This wasn't supposed to be Jimmy Garoppolo's team in 2022. The 49ers officially turned the page to 2021 third overall pick Trey Lance back in Week 1, but Lance was quickly lost to a season-ending ankle injury. Jimmy G took over the reins once again, and he's played extremely well at times.

Last week, Garoppolo tossed four touchdown passes during a rout of the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City. He wasn't as prolific on Sunday, but he did enough to carry an offense that was struggling on the ground.

The 31-year-old finished 26-of-27 for 222 yards and a touchdown. Despite facing heavy pressure from the Saints defense, he was sacked only once.

Garoppolo's ability to play tough in a game where things aren't going smoothly should give San Francisco a lot of confidence as the playoffs near. It's also likely to get Garoppolo a sizeable contract on the open market.

The 49ers may have a tough decision to make at quarterback, considering Lance's resume (four starts) is so limited. They know that they can win games with Garoppolo. Other teams seeking a starting-caliber quarterback will be interested in Garoppolo as well.

Garoppolo has been quite good this season, posting 16 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 103.0 passer rating.

Whether Garoppolo returns to the Bay Area or not, he's going to get a much larger contract than the $7 million reduced salary that he accepted to remain a 49er in 2022.

While Garoppolo and the offense did just enough, the 49ers needed their defense to come up big in order to get the victory. That's exactly what happened, as the defense dominated from wire to wire and pitched a shutout.

New Orleans logged just 260 yards of offense and 14 first downs on Sunday and didn't reach the red zone until the fourth quarter. The Saints did have some chances in the final period, but an Alvin Kamara fumble at the 1-yard line and a sack of Andy Dalton at the San Francisco 11 ended New Orleans' two most promising drives.

Led by standouts like Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward and Tashaun Gipson, the 49ers defense is loaded with talent. The unit is emerging as arguably the best defense in the NFL—it ranks first in both yards and points allowed—and as it showed on Sunday, it can take over a game when needed.

The 49ers' formula is clear. It wants to run the ball, play stingy, physical defense and allow Garoppolo to make the occasional big play. That's what worked when San Francisco marched to the Super Bowl in 2019, and it could work this season as well.

San Francisco will need to get its backfield healthy and continue getting efficient play from Jimmy G, but this defense is good enough to take the 49ers deep into the postseason even if the offense isn't humming as desired.

*Contract information via Spotrac.