Aching 49ers deal Cardinals defeat
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — The San Francisco 49ers limped into Saturday’s game with no more playoff hopes and a group that included third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard, unheralded running back Jeff Wilson and several defensive backups.
Then they went out and pushed around the Arizona Cardinals anyway.
Beathard threw three touchdown passes, Wilson ran for 183 yards, and San Francisco dealt a brutal blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes by beating the Cardinals 20-12.
For the 49ers, the win was all about pride for a team that went to the Super Bowl last season but has endured a 2020 that’s fallen well short of expectations.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t surprised by the gritty performance.
“We’re not proud of our record, we’d like to be better, but that doesn’t tell the story of who we are,” Shanahan said.
The Cardinals (8-7) no longer control their own destiny in the playoff race. If the Chicago Bears (8-7) beat Green Bay next weekend, they will reach the playoffs because of a tiebreaker over the Cardinals — even if Arizona finishes the season by defeating the host Los Angeles Rams.
Beathard was making his first start since 2018 and was 1-9 as a starting quarterback before he was pressed into action against the Cardinals because of injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens.
It’s been a difficult past 12 months for Beathard, whose brother Clayton was fatally stabbed last December outside a bar in Nashville, Tennessee.
Beathard wasn’t amazing Saturday but avoided big mistakes. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 182 yards.
Arizona started the day positioned as the No. 7 and final team in the NFC playoff field, but the game was a struggle from the outset The 49ers (6-9) pulled ahead 14-6 in the third quarter on Beathard’s 9-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Murray completed 31 of 50 passes for 247 yards, no touchdowns and the late interception. Hopkins, the NFL’s leading receiver coming into the game, had eight catches for 48 yards.
Finding Fitz
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had six catches for 28 yards. The 37-year-old has caught at least 50 passes in 17 straight seasons, an NFL record.
This might have been the final home game of Fitzgerald’s career. As has been the case the past few years, he said he’ll wait until after the season to make any decisions about his future.