PRO FOOTBALL : Andersen Makes Kick, Makes Amends to Give Saints a 26-24 Victory

Morten Andersen didn’t think about the past, or the present for that matter.

Andersen kicked a 40-yard field goal into the wind with 1:06 left Sunday to give the New Orleans Saints a 26-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Three weeks ago, Andersen missed a 52-yard kick that would have beaten the 49ers.

“I don’t think about the past,” Andersen said. “I saw what I had to make and a 40-yarder was what it was. I don’t look at the wind, either.”

The ball barely cleared the crossbar and was just inside the right upright.

Andersen kicked five field goals against the 49ers in the Louisiana Superdome three weeks ago, but missed a kick in the closing seconds and the Saints lost, 24-22.

“Andersen said the last few days that he wanted to get another shot at them,” Coach Jim Mora said.

The Saints (6-3) snapped San Francisco’s seven-game winning streak and closed in on the 49ers (7-2) in the NFC West race. New Orleans has never finished better than 8-8 in its 21-year history.

“We are a contender,” Mora said. “But being a contender doesn’t count. What counts is where you are at the end of the season.”

Joe Montana, who was supposed to serve as backup quarterback because of a finger injury, was forced into a relief role and threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ron Heller with 2:54 remaining. Ray Wersching’s conversion kick sent the 49ers ahead for the first time since the second period.

The 49ers were at the Saints’ 40-yard line as the game ended.

“We really kept battling,” Mora said. “That was the important thing. We could have said, ‘Aw, man, here we go again.’ ”

Steve Young started at quarterback for the 49ers but played only one quarter, leaving with a mild concussion. He completed 5 of 6 passes, with the last one a 46-yard touchdown pass play to Jerry Rice.

“At halftime, Steve thought it was still the first quarter,” Coach Bill Walsh said.

Rice also caught a 50-yard pass in the third quarter from running back Harry Sydney, who threw the ball after taking a lateral from Montana.

Andersen made field goals from 40, 27 and 51 yards in the first half, and the Saints led, 9-7, at halftime. They increased the lead to 16-7 early in the third quarter on Bobby Hebert’s 43-yard touchdown pass play to Mike Jones.

Rice made his second touchdown catch, his eighth in six games this season, soon after Jones scored, and the 49ers moved into field goal range in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

But Reggie Sutton blocked a 47-yard attempt by Wersching and Johnnie Poe picked up the loose ball and went 61 yards to score, sending the Saints ahead, 23-14.