FIREWORKS A WASHOUT: SAINTS 10, 49ERS 3

NEW ORLEANS, NOV. 10 -- The fireworks were strictly extracurricular today as the New Orleans Saints trudged past the San Francisco 49ers, 10-3, in the kind of inoffensive game coaches like to call a defensive struggle.

A burlap bag, used to insulate support wires in the gondola of the Louisiana Superdome, was struck by a rocket during the halftime fireworks show. A fire resulted and the blazing bag was knocked onto the field early in the second half, causing an eight-minute delay and bringing firemen charging out.

A tub of ice from the Saints' bench extinguished the blaze on the 40-yard line, and Morten Andersen, who had been preparing a long time for a 21-yard field-goal attempt, eventually got to kick it.

The activity did nothing to fire up either team's offense. Although 24 1/2 minutes remained, Andersen's kick completed the scoring. The 49ers twice drove close enough to envision overtime, but lost the ball on fumbles at the Saints 29 and 17.

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Although the victory gave the Saints a 9-1 record and assured their fourth winning season in 25 years, many of the 68,591 fans spent the day booing their team's unimaginative offense, which totaled 191 yards. The biggest cheers were reserved for Tommy Barnhardt, who punted four of his nine kicks 50 or more yards. The fireworks today were to mark the Saints' 25th anniversary, and despite their undistinguished past they are keeping a very hot pace, just a game behind the Redskins for the league's best record.

They had only one first down on their last five possessions, but it was a big one. With 2:48 left and the Saints needing nine yards on third down at their 16, wide receiver Eric Martin dived and caught Steve Walsh's pass for the yardage that enabled the Saints to run out the clock.

"Steve did a real nice job, and that was a clutch play with Eric," said their coach, Jim Mora. "I thought it would be a low-scoring game, with a play here and there making the difference, and that was one of the plays that made the difference."

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Walsh, replacing injured Bobby Hebert, completed 10 of 25 passes for 116 yards. For the 49ers, third-stringer Steve Bono made his first start in four years. Filling in for ailing Joe Montana and Steve Young, he completed 15 of 32 for 131 yards.

The 49ers' points came on Mike Cofer's 32-yard field goal less than two minutes into the game. Safety Dave Waymer set it up, intercepting Walsh's first pass and running it back 42 yards to the 17.

The Saints took the lead on Walsh's eight-yard pass to Martin late in the second quarter. They drove 32 yards in five plays after cornerback Vince Buck recovered fullback Tom Rathman's fumble.

Andersen's field goal produced the only points completely generated by the offense. On the Saints' first possession of the second half, they drove from their 27 to the 49ers 4, with Walsh completing three straight passes for 40 yards.

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Everyone in the Superdome was distracted during the drive by the scene high up in the dome. Frank Sweet, an employee of Classic Fireworks by Events Inc., tried to smother the fire, but wound up knocking the debris onto the field.

"I'm used to being iced, but here I was getting fried," Andersen said. "It took me a while to figure it out. Here the crowd was going nuts and I hadn't kicked yet. I looked behind me and I saw the firemen running out.

"You have to be careful in a situation like that. You have to stay disciplined and focused. I thought about going off and kicking into the net, but I was ready."

Besides losing three fumbles, the 49ers were stymied by seven penalties for 51 yards, starting with a personal foul on the opening kickoff. Four other fouls were declined, as the 49ers also were flagged for an invalid fair-catch signal, an ineligible receiver downfield, tripping, holding, early departure on a punt, motion and several false starts.

"We were just getting too many penalties and turnovers against a good defensive club like this and we created problems," said Coach George Seifert, whose 49ers fell to 4-6 and seem likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since the strike year of 1982.

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