How do you see this one playing out? Our staff writers made their picks for Week 2’s game between the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers, and they smell blood in the water. An injury-ravaged 49ers team is coming to town without a starting quarterback, Pro Bowl tight end, or No. 1 wide receiver. Of course their defense is healthy, but at some point Spencer Rattler needs to win a game and justify all the faith fans have put in him. Is this the week he gets it done?
Saints 13, 49ers 10
If all things were equal and both teams healthy, I’d take San Francisco by a touchdown. But as things stand we have a healthy 49ers defense paired with a shorthanded offense, lining up against a New Orleans offense which couldn’t find the end zone against a much less-talented Arizona Cardinals defense one week ago. I like the Saints defense going against the 49ers here, and this could be a long day for left tackle Trent Williams, who has lost a step while playing hurt. I see a low-scoring game just like the last time these teams met, but at least now New Orleans has something resembling a strategy to work with offensively. Bold prediction: The Saints pass rush gets five more sacks, with Alontae Taylor bringing Mac Jones down twice to maintain his lead over Micah Parsons as the NFL’s sacks leader in No. 1. — John Sigler
Saints 24, 49ers 17
Any other week this likely would end up being a pretty clear loss for the New Orleans Saints. The talent deficit is rather large between the two squads…however, injuries have rooted themselves in the San Francisco 49ers roster lately. Mac Jones is a somewhat reliable quarterback, but lining him up with as few weapons as they will have in Week 2, it is going to be difficult to overcome a Saints defense that really looked solid at times in Week 1. Bold Prediction : New Orleans holds San Francisco under 100 rushing yards as a team, and manages to stifle Christian McCaffrey in the run game, or at least more than usual. — Jeremy Trottier
Saints 20, 49ers 16
New Orleans will need to lean on their defense in this one, especially since San Francisco will be without Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk. The Saints must still find a way to contain Christian McCaffrey and it’s absolutely imperative that they heavily disrupt quarterback Mac Jones. Offensively, Kellen Moore’s play-calling must utilize the best attributes of his best playmakers while still not putting too much on Spencer Rattler. Bold prediction: Saints WR Rashid Shaheed has 150 yards from scrimmage and scores a touchdown. — Bob Rose
Saints 19, 49ers 10
With the amount of injuries San Francisco has to overcome — especially at the quarterback position — it’s tough to see them competing with anyone on Sunday. The Saints, on the other hand, should have an advantage against Mac Jones. He isn’t the most mobile quarterback, which means New Orleans’ front should be able to pressure him throughout the game. I’ve got the Saints taking this one, with their defense setting the tone. Bold prediction: Cameron Jordan gets to Mac Jones twice, bringing his sack total to 3.5 through the first two weeks. — Luke Loffredo
49ers 21, Saints 17
This game really feels like it could go either way, but I think this is one of the more evenly matched games New Orleans will see the San Francisco injury troubles. The thing is, the Saints offense didn’t show me enough last week to say with confidence that they can take advantage. I do think the 49ers have the better defense, so that’s what my pick will be. Bold prediction: Jonas Sanker puts Saints fan at ease with his first career regular season interception. Losing Julian Blackmon is a major bummer, but Sanker is confident and talented. He should be able to step into the role well. Mac Jones also stinks. He’s finished the last two seasons with an average interception percentage of 3.3.  Jameis Winston has a career 3.5% for reference. — John Sigler