Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints passed their first test in defense of their Super Bowl championship.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t respond nearly as well in their first audition for the role as favorites in the NFC West.
Coming off a dismal season-opening performance in Seattle, the 49ers (0-1) will hope to rebound when they host the Saints in a Monday Night Football matchup.
New Orleans (1-0) survived a grudge match against Minnesota in its opener on Sept. 9, putting the clamps on Brett Favre in a 14-9 victory over the Vikings.
Unlike the high-scoring duel against Minnesota in the NFC Championship game, the Saints had to rely on their defense after scoring fewer than 14 points for just the second time in 28 games.
New Orleans blanked the Vikings in the second half while holding Favre to 171 yards passing and limiting star running back Adrian Peterson to 87 yards on 19 carries.
There were some bright spots offensively. Brees, the Super Bowl MVP, completed 75 percent of his passes by finishing 27 of 36 for 237 yards and a touchdown.
And Pierre Thomas, who carried the ball just twice for one yard in the first half, did the heavy lifting in the second half and wound up with 71 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Now, with 11 days to prepare for Monday night's encounter, New Orleans should be poised for a much better effort against a San Francisco defense that could not compensate for a ragged performance by its offense in a 31-6 loss at Seattle.
The 49ers were holding a 6-0 lead before surrendering a pair of late second-quarter touchdowns, including one set up by an interception.
Another interception of San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith on the third play of the third quarter was returned for a touchdown to put the 49ers in a 21-6 hole.
The three touchdowns came within a span of 3 1/2 minutes and the 49ers never recovered.
Hill was shaky under center, finishing 26 of 45 for 225 yards. He was picked off twice and sacked twice. The running game provided little support, as Frank Gore managed just 38 yards on 17 carries, although he did have six receptions for 45 yards.
Tight end Vernon Davis was the Niners’ most dangerous threat, hauling in eight receptions for 73 yards.
History is not on San Francisco’s side against Brees, who is 3-0 on Monday nights, throwing for 1,002 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception.
Brees also is 4-0 in his career against the 49ers, throwing 10 touchdowns against two interceptions.