Just how bad was the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the San Francisco 49ers?
Sunday’s 45-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was a devastating one for the Arizona Cardinals, but the biggest concern immediately afterward was how it might affect the team as it heads into the final three games of the season.
Will a loss that might have appeared as one-sided as the Raiders’ 63-21 rout of the Chargers on Thursday night lead to a complete regression and make the Cardinals “mail it in” when they hit the road for games at the Eagles and Bears before closing the season at home against the Seahawks?
It’s a fair question, even if coach Jonathan Gannon’s team has never really shown any quit this year despite falling to 3-11, the second-worst record in the NFC behind only the lowly Panthers (2-12), who surprisingly won a game on Sunday.
So, could the Cardinals roll over and die now? Gannon said no, absolutely not, and when asked how convinced he is of that not happening, he said, “100 percent.”
“I know the leadership in that locker room,” Gannon added. “I know the want-to, I know their will. That was evident to me. We didn’t lay down at the end of the game. The game’s out of reach and we go down and score. I was actually very pleased about that because there’s a point where you could say, ‘You know what? If you’re in my seat, let’s pull everybody and let the other guys go.’
“No way. They weren’t coming out of the game, either. That’s what we need to keep doing to give ourselves a chance to win. That has to be consistent. It’s the NFL. It’s a big boy league. You’ve got to bring it every week. And I think our guys do.”
But even a season-high 436 yards of total offense, including 234 rushing yards and an eight-plus minute advantage in time of possession wasn’t enough to beat the 49ers (11-3), who clinched the NFC West title and strengthened their hold on the No.1 playoff seed in the conference.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the former Gilbert Perry High standout, was exceptional in his Arizona homecoming, completing 16 of 25 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He was not intercepted and was not sacked.
Running back Christian McCaffrey ran 18 times for 115 yards and a touchdown and also caught five passes for 72 yards and two more scores. Receiver Deebo Samuel, meanwhile, had two touchdown receptions and cornerback Charvarius Ward intercepted Kyler Murray twice, including one in which he returned 66 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
“It’s fourth-and-3, it’s on me,” Murray said, blaming himself for his missed throw over the middle to tight end Trey McBride. “We’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be better.”
The Cardinals scored on six of their 10 possessions, but three of them were field goals from Matt Prater. The 49ers, meanwhile, scored touchdowns on each of the first three possessions to start the second half to begin pulling away before playing a softer, preventive defense that allowed Arizona to pick up some garbage points toward the end.
Still, Gannon said he was proud of the way his team battled after things started getting out of hand. There was no rust or unresponsiveness by his club coming out of the bye week, either, he said.
“No, not at all. I thought we had our best week (of practice). I was driving 100 (mph) in here today I was so excited for the game,” Gannon said, quickly adding, “I probably shouldn’t say that, but no, I thought we had a really good week. These guys prepared their ass off, we practiced well, we were in pads, we knew it was going to be a physical game.
“We just didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Will they find a way to do that in any of their final three games? McBride, who has 35 receptions for 388 yards in his last four games, has no doubts.
“We’re close,” he said. “That’s a tough (49ers) team, a tough defense, but we’re really close. We played well on offense, missed a few opportunities … but we’re close. We’re really close.”
And they won’t show any quit, they promise.
“I don’t see that in this team. I know that’s not this team,” Murray said. “Offensively, we won’t allow it. Defensively, I know those guys over there won’t. … We’ve said it all along, our record doesn’t determine how we play football or how we’re going to prepare each week. And that’s the case.
“Obviously, this one stings. But we’ve got another game next week.”
What went right for the Arizona Cardinals?
The first drive: The Cardinals opened the game with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by James Conner’s 2-yard run into the end zone. Big plays included two receptions by tight end Trey McBride for 11 and 38 yards on back-to-back throws by Murray, and a 12-yard scramble by Murray.
They ran the ball well: Six different players ran the ball for a total of 234 yards, Arizona’s second-highest output on the ground this season. James Conner led the way with 86 yards on 14 carries, including a touchdown.
They kept it close for a while: It was a one-score game at halftime with the 49ers leading 21-13. Take away Murray’s two interceptions and get touchdowns instead of three Prater field goals and this one could have had a dynamic finish. It didn’t happen.
What went wrong for the Arizona Cardinals?
An early interception: On Arizona’s second possession, Murray’s fourth pass of the drive, which was intended for McBride over the middle, was intercepted by cornerback Charvarius Ward and returned 66 yards for a touchdown. Murray had time in the pocket, but Ward had time to easily step in front of McBride to make the steal and deliver a back-breaking pick-six.
The special teams TD that wasn’t: Trailing 21-13 with 1:03 left in the first half, the Cardinals were forced to punt. Gunner Greg Dortch sped his way down the field and forced a fumble by returner Ronnie Bell. Joey Blount picked up the loose ball and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown. But upon further review, replays indicated that Bell was down by contact before coughing up the football. The touchdown, which could have helped tie the game with a successful 2-point conversion, was wiped off the board.
A terrible start to the second half: The Cardinals’ defense quickly allowed the 49ers to score on just four plays to extend their lead to 28-13. The killer plays were a 35-yard completion to tight end George Kittle, immediately followed by a 41-yard touchdown catch and run by McCaffrey. On the ensuing possession, Murray was briefly injured and had to exit the game, backup Clayton Tune fumbled an exchange, and the Cardinals went three-and-out on some very ugly football.
Trouble with handoff exchanges: The Cardinals had five fumbles on the day and even though they recovered all of them, they were far too sloppy, especially on handoff exchanges.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball,” Murray said.
Did you notice?
Receivers Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (heel) and rookie Michael Wilson (neck) played despite being listed as questionable, as did safety Budda Baker, who was a late addition to the injury report with an illness and was also listed as questionable.
Brown, however, had to come out of the game because of his nagging heel injury and for the second consecutive game, he was held without a single catch. The Cardinals’ wide receivers as a whole were limited to just four total catches for only 20 yards.
McBride briefly left the game with a shoulder injury but managed to return. Fellow tight end Geoff Swaim wasn’t as fortunate. He suffered a right calf injury in the second quarter and did not return.
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The grades for Cardinals vs. 49ers
Offense (B-): Murray was 26 of 39 for 211 yards and a touchdown, but his two interceptions led directly to 10 points by the 49ers. Arizona ran the ball extremely well, but it wasn’t enough. The fumbles are a problem that needs to get fixed and finding a way to get the receivers more engaged remains a huge priority down the stretch. Arizona did have nine explosive plays of 15 yards or longer, but three of those came on the final drive when the game was already way out of hand.
Defense (D): Arizona never put any real pressure on Purdy, who was allowed to sit in the pocket and pick the defense apart when he needed to. Once again, the Cardinals had no answer on how to stop McCaffrey, who torched them on the ground and in the passing game. The 49ers’ offense also had nine explosive plays of 15 yards or longer.
Special teams (B): Prater was good from 58, 43 and 28 yards and the punt coverage unit thought it had a turnover and a touchdown on a lost fumble that wasn’t upon further review. Blake Gillikin’s two punts were excellent, with each landing inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 54.0 net yards.
Personnel notes
McBride entered the game needing one catch to establish a new franchise single-season record for receptions by a tight end. After being tied with Zach Ertz (2021) and Jackie Smith (1967) with 56 catches, McBride caught 10 more against the 49ers, giving him 66 overall with three more games left to play, to set the new mark.
With 712 total receiving yards on the year, McBride also joined Smith as the only tight ends in club history with 700 or more receiving yards in a season. Smith had 1,205 in 1967, 810 in 1966 and 789 in 1968.
Prater’s 58-yard field goal early in the second quarter was his eighth from 50 yards or longer this season, establishing a single-season franchise record for the most such field goals. It was also his 79th career field goal made from 50 yards or longer, extending his own NFL record.
Conner’s first-quarter rushing touchdown was his 27th as a member of the Cardinals, tying him with Johnny Roland (1966-72) and Elmer Angsman (1946-52) for sixth place on the franchise all-time list.
With a passer rating of 135.3 against the Cardinals, Purdy tied Justin Herbert for the second-most games (13) by a quarterback with a rating of at least 110 or higher in his first two seasons in the NFL. Only Russell Wilson (14) has more.
McCaffrey on Sunday became just the fourth player in NFL history to record at least 1,000 rushing yards and 500 or more receiving yards in four or more career seasons, joining Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk (five seasons), Thurman Thomas (four) and Tiki Barber (four). McCaffrey reached the marks in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
McCaffrey’s rushing output Sunday also put him over 6,000 career rushing yards to go along with 4,000 receiving yards, becoming just the third player ever to do that in his first seven seasons. The others were Faulk and Roger Craig.
Up next
The Cardinals hit the road for the eighth time this season when they meet the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday. Kickoff is 2:25 p.m. (Arizona time). Arizona is 1-10 in its last 11 road games dating back to last season.
This will be the 93rd meeting in the all-time series dating back to 1920 with the Bears holding a 57-29-6 edge. The Cardinals won the last meeting 33-22 in 2021. The Bears (5-9) lost to the Browns on Sunday, 20-17.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. with Roc and Manuch on Fox Sports 910-AM.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Examining the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the San Francisco 49ers
