NEW ORLEANS -- Anquan Boldin led the San Francisco 49ers with six catches for 95 yards and a 15-yard touchdown reception in the 49ers' 27-24 overtime victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
But that only tells part of the story.
Because, though Boldin was a huge part in the 49ers building a 21-10 halftime lead, he was also a reason for the second-half collapse that required a near-miraculous 4th-and-10 conversion by quarterback Colin Kaepernick and receiver Michael Crabtree to force OT.
Boldin had four dropped passes in the second half, equaling his total number of drops from the 2013 season and, per ESPN Stats & Info, became the third NFL player with four drops in a half since 2006, joining Warrick Dunn in Week 14 of the 2008 season and Brandon Marshall in Week 9 in 2007. Boldin is the first player with four drops in a game since New England’s Aaron Dobson in Week 2 last season.
"I thought the first part of the game we did what we wanted to," Boldin said. "We established the running game and we went out and made plays. In the second half, we didn’t make as many plays, but we obviously did enough to get the win."
Boldin, who entered the game with one drop this season, cost Kaepernick dearly in his completion percentage. Because after going 5-for-7 for 86 yards with a TD targeting Boldin in the first half, Kaepernick was just 1-7 for 9 yards throwing the ball to Boldin after halftime.
There was a positive highlight, though, for Boldin, who went over 600 receiving yards for the season. He joined Jerry Rice as the only two pass-catchers in NFL history to get at least 600 yards receiving in each of his first 12 seasons.