By Morris Phillips

After an afternoon of heartache and frustration, the 49ers have revised goals: hope to get healthy and if so, sneak into the playoffs.

The 49ers capitalized on some timely turnovers and led in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell to the Saints, 23-20, who were aided by a controversial roughing the passer call.

“The game could have gone a totally different direction than what it went,” Ahmad Brooks said of the play with three minutes remaining in which he sacked the Saints’ Drew Brees and forced a fumble, but was flagged for using excessive force to the neck and head.  “I was just mad that was a big play in the game.  We lost, and that’s probably the reason why.”

While the 49ers made big plays and converted them into points, they were outdone statistically and made numerous mistakes and one big mental error that contributed to their second straight loss after five wins in a row.  And while the normal dissection of the tense, winnable ballgame unfolds, the underlying theme of the season can’t be understated: minus Michael Crabtree or another capable receiving threat, offensively, the 49ers haven’t been near good enough to merit a return trip to the Super Bowl.

The 49ers fell to 6-4 on the season, and instead of competing for a division crown with the Seahawks, the 49ers find themselves competing against a group of 6-4 and 5-5 teams for a playoff berth as fifth or sixth seed.

Leading 20-14 early in the fourth quarter, the 49ers failed on two possessions to stretch their lead.  Instead the Saints got three Garrett Hartley field goals, the final one at the final buzzer to win it.

The 49ers managed just 196 yards in offense and ran just 56 total offensive plays, allowing the Saints and Brees to enjoy a healthy edge in time of possession.  And while Colin Kaepernick didn’t play poorly, he struggled to incorporate different players into the attack, which left the 49ers few credible options outside Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis, especially when running plays in the red zone.

Kapernick finished 17 for 31 totaling 127 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception.  Frank Gore made several big runs but finished with 48 yards on 13 carries.    Boldin and Davis were on the receiving end of 10 of Kaepernick’s 17 completions and both of his touchdowns.

But with time running out, Kapernick made the major mental gaffe: on third and 19 with 1:56 remaining and the game tied at 20, the third-year quarterback scrambled left for 16 yards, but ran out of bounds, allowing the Saints to preserve their final timeout, and have enough time to fashion the winning field goal.  Afterwards, Kaepernick explained that he was attempting to get a first down, but with several Saints’ defenders bearing down, a first down appeared unlikely.

On the next play, special teams’ gunner Kassim Osgood failed to see Darren Sproles signaling for a fair catch and ran through the punt returner, drawing a 15-yard personal foul that set up the Saints at their own 40-yard line with 1:41 remaining.

Mike Iupati and Tarell Brown suffered injuries in the contest and were unable to finish.  Davis and safety Eric Reid were both cleared to participate following concussions suffered in the Panthers’ game, and assumed their normal starting positions.

              Next week, the 49ers travel to the nation’s capital to face the Redskins on Monday Night Football.