REPORT CARD
Cardinals insider Bob McManaman offers his position-by-position grades on how the team performed on Sunday against the 49ers:
Passing offense: B
It wasn’t very good early, but it was stellar late and that’s when the Cardinals needed it most from Josh Rosen and his receivers. New coordinator Byron Leftwich got things going at times by utilizing more screen passes and Rosen made the right reads on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. His passes were mostly all on target at that point in the game.
Rushing offense: C
It got better, despite the grade. The Cardinals still haven’t managed to rush for 100 yards this season. They got close on Sunday with 88 and probably would have topped the century mark had David Johnson not missed a handful of plays late while being evaluated for a concussion. He finished with 59 yards, his second-highest rushing total this season.
Pass defense: B+
It would have gotten an “A” had Patrick Peterson not gotten beat in man coverage by Marquise Goodwin on a crossing pattern that Goodwin turned upfield and took 55 yards for a San Francisco touchdown. Other than that, everything about this unit was remarkably good, from the pass rush to the coverage by the secondary.
Rush defense: C
It was decent, but it could have been better. The Cardinals once again allowed an opponent to rush for 100 – the 49ers ran for 107. There weren’t many running plays that actually hurt Arizona, as San Francisco’s longest run was 26 yards by Alfred Morris. The 49ers’ featured back, Matt Breida, was held to 42 yards on 16 carries, an average of 2.6 yards per run.
Special teams: C
Nothing extraordinary here, but nothing damning either, which is good. The Cardinals never had a chance at any returns themselves and they didn’t get burned by any from the 49ers. Punter Andy Lee again was sensational with a 45.8 gross average. The Cardinals still have issues here, however, as they didn’t have enough men on the field for Phil Dawson’s second-quarter field-goal attempt and opted to take a delay-of-game penalty, which pushed the attempt back five yards. It was successful, but you get the point.
Coaching: B+
The Cardinals used their 4-3 base defense more than I think they have in any other game this season, and it was a welcome sight because it worked. It was also encouraging to see new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich open some things up for Rosen, starting with screen passes to his tailbacks and receivers. Coach Steve Wilks picked up his second win and had his team prepared following a controversial week. That was definitely a good sign moving forward.