3 reasons why the New Orleans Saints lost to the 49ers

It was an unexpected shootout in a wild NFC battle that involved almost 100 points by the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.

A first-half filled with 55 points combined between the New Orleans Saints and San Fran 49ers.

Two quarterbacks, Drew Brees and Jimmy Garoppolo, gunning it out all over the yard and leading their offenses to prolific heights.

In fact, both defenses allowed more than 450 yards of total offense, as it felt like the 54-51 barn-burner between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams last season.

But at the end of the day, it’s a tough pill to swallow for New Orleans.

The team now falls to the No. 3 seed in the NFC, and would not receive a first-round bye if the regular season ended today.

Even though the Saints can’t fall lower than the No. 3 seed with the NFC South clinched, climbing back up to the No. 1 seed will require winning out their final three games and hoping the 49ers and Packers fall in the standings.

But for its Week 14 blood-brawl with San Francisco, New Orleans wasn’t perfect by any means and had several mistakes that resulted in its defeat.