Studs and Duds in Cardinals’ 38-10 loss to 49ers
What an embarrassment.
The Arizona Cardinals were completely blown out by the San Francisco 49ers 38-10 on national television in Mexico City. It was a complete dismantling in the second half, as the first half was a respectable 17-10 score.
There were almost no bright spots for this team and there are major question marks moving forward for the organization. If they put up repeat performances for the remainder of the season, there will be wholesale changes up and down.
There were mostly duds in the game but we do have at least one bright spot.
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STUD: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Hopkins was very efficient from the get-go. The 49ers’ defense did not have an answer for him until the second half when the game was well out of hand.
D-Hop finished the game with nine receptions for 91 yards and was clutch on third down. He’s had a number of great outings against the 49ers in the past and will be a key part of their potential success moving forward.
49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward had no answer for Hopkins, who has been sensational since his return from suspension. He’s up to 396 yards receiving and has silenced his doubters.
STUD: WR Greg Dortch
Dortch was one of the few bright spots for the offense that was ineffective for most of the outing.
Slot wideout Rondale Moore suffered a quad injury on the first play of the game, which put Dortch into a full-time role. He made the most of it, which he has all season, to the tune of 103 receiving yards on nine catches.
It marks the first 100-yard receiving game for Dortch in his young career. He’s a young player who has been very promising for the Cardinals, one the Cardinals would be wise to keep moving forward.
DUD: The Cardinals Defense
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
It would be foolish to point out a singular player on the night because there really wasn’t one. The entire Cardinals defense was a mess in a game that meant so much to the team.
The Cardinals offense is banged up beyond measure, missing eight key starters in this game. Defensively, the Cards had most of their guys out there and were completely manhandled by the 49ers.
San Francisco did not do anything special and cake-walked to 38 points. The effort out of the second half was unacceptable. Both RBs Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell were gaining 5+ yards per carry with ease.
Jimmy Garoppolo had four passing touchdowns on the day, which is more of an inditement on the Cardinals defense than him having an elite passing performance. He had wide-open targets all day long, as Vance Joseph’s soft zone scheme was exposed in Mexico City.
All of the blame can’t be put on Joseph’s shoulders, although the scheme and performance tonight was terrible. The defensive line given to him by the front office, aside from J.J. Watt and Zach Allen, is a complete disaster. They are putting practice squad players out in a make-or-break game for the season.
Just when we thought the defense might be good enough to carry over into 2022, they have shown otherwise.
