User:Feardabeard10/The Catch III

The Catch III refers to the winning touchdown reception by Vernon Davis off a Alex Smith pass in the January 14, 2012, NFC Divisional playoffs between the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers. The game is most known for its epic and exciting finish with 4 touchdowns being scored in the last 4 minutes of the game.

Game summary
New Orleans started off the game with a 78-yard drive to the 49ers 2-yard line, but came up empty when defensive back Donte Whitner forced a fumble from Pierre Thomas that was recovered by linebacker Patrick Willis. Thomas was injured on the play and did not return. Later on, San Francisco opened up the scoring with Smith's 49-yard touchdown pass to Davis. A few plays into the next drive, Dashon Goldson intercepted a pass from Saints quarterback Drew Brees and returned it 41 yards to the 4-yard line, setting up Smith's touchdown completion to Michael Crabtree and giving the 49ers a 14–0 lead. Then Courtney Roby lost a fumble on the kickoff that San Francisco linebacker Blake Costanzo recovered on the Saints 13-yard line. This time New Orleans managed to keep them out of the end zone, but David Akers kicked a field goal to give the 49ers a 17–0 lead less then a minute into the second quarter. Brees led the Saints back, completing 7 consecutive passes for 65 yards and rushing for 5 on an 80-yard drive that ended with his 14-yard scoring pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. Then after a punt, he threw a 25-yard touchdown completion to Marques Colston, cutting the deficit to three points. Later on, Brees threw his second interception, this one to Tarell Brown, but San Francisco could not convert and the score remained 17–14 at the end of the second quarter, despite three Saints turnovers. Early in the second half, Costanzo forced a fumble from Darren Sproles on a punt return and Colin Jones recovered it, leading to Akers' second field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Saints managed to close the gap back to three points with a franchise postseason record 48-yard field goal from John Kasay. But a 42-yard run from San Francisco's Frank Gore helped put the margin back up to six on Akers' third field goal of the day. With 4:02 left in the game, New Orleans took their first lead of the game at 24–23 with Brees' 44-yard touchdown pass to Sproles. But it lasted less then 2 minutes before San Francisco took it back, with Smith hitting Davis for a 37-yard gain before taking the ball into the end zone himself on his career long 28-yard run, making the score 29–24 after the two-point conversion failed. Not to be outdone, Brees matched the score with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 66-yard completion to Graham, and then threw the ball to Sproles for a successful 2-point conversion, giving the Saints a 32–29 lead.

Final drive and catch
San Francisco got the ball back on their own 15-yard line with 1:37 left in the game. Smith started the drive with two completions to Gore for 18 yards. Then after an incompletion, the connected on a 47-yard pass to Davis, advancing the ball to the Saints 20-yard line. A 6-yard completion to Gore then moved the ball to the 14, where Smith spiked the ball to stop the clock. On the next play, he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left, earning San Francisco their first conference championship game since 1997. Smith threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while adding 28 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to lead two go-ahead touchdowns in the final three minutes of a game.[11] Davis caught 7 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, breaking Kellen Winslow's NFL postseason record for receiving yards (166) by a tight end.[12] Gore rushed for 89 yards and caught 7 passes for 38. For the Saints, Brees completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns, with 2 interceptions. His top target was Sproles, who caught 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, while adding 59 more yards on rushing and special teams returns. Graham caught 5 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, while Colston caught 9 passes for 136 yards and one score. Davis' game winning touchdown catch occurred four days after the 30th anniversary of The Catch – Joe Montana's famous touchdown pass to Dwight Clark – known as one of the most famous plays in San Francisco 49ers history. Sports writers and 49ers fans have taken to referring Davis' catch as The Catch III.[13]

Scoring summary
1st Quarter SF – Vernon Davis 49-yard pass from Alex Smith (David Akers kick), 2:08. 49ers 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 54 yards, 0:46 SF – Michael Crabtree 4-yard pass from Alex Smith (David Akers kick), 0:41. 49ers 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 4 yards, 0:15 2nd Quarter SF – David Akers 25-yard field goal, 14:12. 49ers 17–0. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:23 NO – Jimmy Graham 14-yard pass from Drew Brees (John Kasay kick), 9:32. 49ers 17–7. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:40 NO – Marques Colston 25-yard pass from Drew Brees (John Kasay kick), 4:09. 49ers 17–14. Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards, 3:04 3rd Quarter SF – David Akers 41-yard field goal, 10:36. 49ers 20–14. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 0:59 4th Quarter NO – John Kasay 48-yard field goal, 13:08. 49ers 20–17. Drive: 9 plays, 37 yards, 3:26 SF – David Akers 37-yard field goal, 7:36. 49ers 23–17. Drive: 5 plays, 45 yards, 3:02 NO – Darren Sproles 44-yard pass from Drew Brees (John Kasay kick), 4:02. Saints 24–23. Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 3:34 SF – Alex Smith 28-yard run (Frank Gore run failed), 2:11. 49ers 29–24. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:51 NO – Jimmy Graham 66-yard pass from Drew Brees (Drew Brees–Darren Sproles pass), 1:37. Saints 32–29. Drive: 4 plays, 88 yards, 0:34 SF – Vernon Davis 14-yard pass from Alex Smith (David Akers kick), 0:09. 49ers 36–32. Drive: 7 plays, 85 yards, 1:28

Stats
Leading passers NO – Drew Brees – 40/63, 462 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT SF – Alex Smith – 24/42, 299 yards, 3 TD Leading rushers NO – Chris Ivory – 9 rushes, 23 yards SF – Frank Gore – 13 rushes, 89 yards Leading receivers NO – Marques Colston – 9 rec, 136 yards, TD SF – Vernon Davis – 7 rec, 180 yards, 2 TD

Aftermath
The 49ers would move onto the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1997. Meanwhile the next day the New York Giants would upset the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay 37-20. The 49ers would go onto lose to the Giants 20-17 in overtime, as the Giants advanced to their 5th Super Bowl.