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NEW ORLEANS -- So much for the Bush-Gore debate in 2006. Unlike the close presidential election of 2000, Bush won in a landslide Sunday. The debate heading into Sunday's San Francisco-New Orleans game was who was the better running back -- Frank Gore of the 49ers or Reggie Bush of the Saints? Gore was winning the popular vote at the exit polls. He entered the game second in the NFL with 1,117 yards rushing. Bush's numbers were modest -- a 3-yard rushing average and 64 catches with a modest 6.7-yard average. In 11 games, Bush had only one touchdown from scrimmage. There was no hanging chads or voting box inquiries Sunday. Reggie Bush finally had his breakout day in the Superdome. He scored touchdowns in a variety of ways. He scored on a dive play. He scored on a sweep. He scored on a shuffle pass. He scored on a reverse. Overall, Bush had 172 yards on 20 electrifying touches and four touchdowns in a 34-10 blowout over the Niners.  "At some point, the athlete just kind of takes over,'' Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "There is only so much you can draw up on the drawing board. It just becomes just playing ball. Reggie did a great job.''
Bush was a human highlight machine, but the fourth-quarter play that made him worry more than anything else was the longest play in his NFL career. Bush took a swing pass from the Saints' 9 and made enough people miss to have the lead on what was a sure 91-yard touchdown. As he ran down the right sideline well ahead of 49ers defenders, he started to juggle the ball and eventually lost it out of bounds, forcing him to settle for a 74-yard run to the 49ers' 18. "Hopefully, it won't be on sports bloopers,'' Bush said. "What happened was I felt a guy was right behind me and I kept looking back and looking back. After I got to the sidelines, they told me nobody was even close to me.'' No problem. Three plays later, Bush outraced the defense on a reverse for a 10-yard touchdown to make the score 31-10 and seal the blowout. This was the type of day coach Sean Payton envisioned when the Saints (8-4) drafted Bush with the second pick. Deuce McAllister is the team's power back. Bush is instant excitement. The two combined for 308 of the Saints 375 yards. Payton has struggled to find the right way to use the talented backs. Against the 49ers, who played mostly a 3-4 defense, Payton lined up McAllister in the backfield as the long setback. Bush would flank out at receiver, but he would occasionally take the halfback role to give McAllister a break. "I don't think there is a perfect formula," Payton said. "I think the struggle I have sometimes is with Deuce and Reggie is their reps." Payton needed Bush's receiving skills more than ever Sunday. Wide receiver Marques Colston, the early leader for offensive rookie of the year, was sidelined for a second consecutive week with a high ankle sprain. In the first quarter, Joe Horn tweaked a groin that has been bothering him for weeks, and he didn't return. The Saints had only four unheralded wide receivers on the active roster -- Devery Henderson, Jamal Jones, Terrance Cooper and kick-returner Michael Lewis. With the slow-starting Saints trailing 3-0, Payton called a screen pass to Bush from the 49ers' 15 three minutes into the second quarter. Bush made safety Marcus Hudson miss with a nasty jump cut to the inside of the field. Then, he broke away from the arms of Mark Roman and put on a power surge that drove defenders to the 49ers' goal line. San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith, Bush's high school teammate, warned 49ers defenders of his strength. Even though his 73-catch, 562-yard receiving stats suggest he is a finesse back, Bush is strong from lifting weights. "That was a pass that we just put in this week,'' Bush said of the amazing 14-yard completion to the 49ers' 1. "It was a swing pass, flat screen. I made the first guy miss. I just didn't give up after that. I kept fighting.'' Saints players loved it. They have been waiting for the Bush explosion all season. "We call him The Matrix,'' Horn said. "He's a phenomenal athlete. But what I like about him most is that he's respectful and he listens. He knows he's gifted, but he takes everything between the ears. That play on the screen was like PlayStation. He's The Matrix.'' Defensively, the 49ers (5-7) were respecting Brees' right arm more than the legs of McAllister and Bush. They played mostly safe zone schemes to limit Brees' ability to make big plays through the air. For the first half, 49ers coach Mike Nolan had offensive coordinator Norv Turner call more of a conservative running game to keep the Saints' offense off the field. After all, Brees is on pace for a potential 5,000-yard passing season. "We found that the run game was working early and wanted to stick with it," said Brees, who threw for only 186 yards on 28 passes. "We felt like as the game wore on, it took a toll on them a little bit. We wanted to continue to be effective with that, and we were.'' Although McAllister knows Bush's presence means a sacrifice of some of his statistics, he is comfortable clearing enough room for Bush to do his thing. McAlllister finished with 136 yards rushing on 26 carries, putting him back on pace for a 1,000-yard season. He has 790 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games. "You have to look at the big picture,'' McAllister said. "It's all about going to the playoffs and helping this team win. We've been saying all along that Reggie was going to have a big day. He's been coming along. The media and the fans wanted him to have the four touchdowns in the first game. Today, he had a great game. We want to win. For myself personally, for the past five years, I've had success, but I haven't made the playoffs. If Reggie getting carries I would normally get means we're going into the playoffs, then that's fine.'' Gore, meanwhile, barely showed up. The 49ers' power runner had only 40 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 28 yards. The tone of the game changed when Bush had his incredible run to the 1. Payton decided Bush earned the right to score the first touchdown and let him do it with a dive in which he extended his arms to get the ball into the end zone. The show was on. Bush made the score 14-3 when he went around left end and made cornerback Sammy Davis miss on an 8-yard score. Late in the third quarter, Brees got the 49ers' defense to overpursue on a third-and-goal from the 49ers' 5, hitting Bush with a shovel pass for a touchdown. Bush finished with a 10-yard TD on reverse in which no one could get to the outside to keep up with him. "If you give him running room, he will run," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. "Reggie is a very good player, a very explosive player. Today we did not tackle well, and when he broke free, we have to play better team defense."' Maybe the world overestimated what Bush could do as a rookie. At USC, he was Superman. He was drafted by a team that had a power runner who could handle the inside runs much like LenDale White did at USC. But Sunday was his breakout day. Said Bush: "I've been fortunate enough to have great guys like Deuce, Drew Brees and Joe Horn, guys that helped me adjust to the game and helped me understand that patience is a virtue and that it will come in good time.'' The timing couldn't be better for the Saints. New Orleans looks like the team to beat in the NFC South. Bring on the Cowboys. The Saints appear to be ready for the challenge. John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com
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