49ERS 28, CARDINALS 25
Arizona rallies to within 3, but 49ers run out clock, move to 8-0
Cindy McCain served as honorary captain for the Cardinals before Arizona’s game Thursday night against San Francisco.
Kyler Murray couldn’t wait. Oh, he knew that on a short week that having to face a defense like the 49ers’ suffocating collection of pass rushers, tacklers and ball hawks wasn’t the most ideal situation for any NFL quarterback, let alone a rookie one.
The Cardinals’ quarterback, though, has always looked forward to the brightest lights and the biggest stage.
“Should be fun,” Murray said in anticipation of Thursday night’s game at State Farm Stadium against surging San Francisco. “Wearing all black, Thursday night, first real primetime game for us. Just really trying to go out there and put on a show and protect home.”
It was a show, all right. On a Halloween night in front of the 141st consecutive sellout in Glendale, the Cardinals almost stole it, too, rallying back from a 21-7 deficit before losing to the 49ers, 28-25. San Francisco hung on for its eighth straight victory to remain one of just two unbeaten teams left in the league along with the Patriots (8-0).
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 317 yards and four touchdowns, the 49ers scored touchdowns on each of their last three possessions to end the first half, and it was a nightmarish evening for Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, who might have played his worst game ever in an Arizona uniform.
Peterson got beat multiple times by Emmanuel Sanders, including on 1-yard touchdown on fourth down at the end of the first half after the Cardinals unwisely asked for a timeout just before the previous play in which they had stopped the 49ers cold.
Later, Peterson got beat again on a 21yard touchdown by Dante Pettis in the third quarter when he let the 49ers wide receiver get three steps on him in the end zone. That score put the 49ers ahead 2814 and they never looked back, even though the Cardinals made it awfully close.
“I’ll have to see the film,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said, adding Peterson is still working his way back after serving a six-game suspension to the start the season. “…But he’s a very good football player. He’s a dominant player. I’ll have to watch the film. I really don’t know if it was a coverage call or man coverage”
Sanders had the answers as he finished with seven receptions for a gamehigh 112 yards in just his second game with the 49ers since being acquired in a trade from the Broncos.
The Cardinals (3-4-1) had beaten the 49ers eight straight times and with one more win in Thursday’s primetime matchup, would have tied the franchise record for the longest winning streak against a single opponent since they won nine in a row over the Eagles from 197478. A win also would have given Arizona more wins in a month (four) than it had all last season.
But hoping for a victory against this San Francisco defense was probably a pipedream from the start. Not only were the Cardinals playing without their top two running backs in the injured David Johnson (ankle) and Chase Edmonds (hamstring), but they also didn’t have starting right tackle Justin Murray (knee). Left guard Justin Pugh kicked outside and Mason Cole started at guard for Pugh.
On top of that, the Cardinals were facing a 49ers’ defense that has been playing at an historical pace. San Francisco entered the game on track to threaten the 1991 Eagles for the fewest yards ever allowed (3,549) in a 16-game season. Teams were averaging just 224.4 yards against the 49ers, but the Cardinals’ second-half surge helped them finish with 357 total yards.
“We feel like we left a lot of plays out there,” wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “We had one play for 88 yards, so I mean that’s kind oi deceiving on the numbers. They did a good job on the back end and were rushing the passer. They’re a really good defense.
“I’m glad the way we ran the football and the way we controlled the line of scrimmage in the run game. Hopefully, we can roll off that and try to bounce back next week in Tampa.”
Arizona managed to take an early 7-0 lead thanks to a 4-yard touchdown run by Kenyan Drake, their third newest running back. With only two practices under his belt since being acquired in a trade from the Dolphins, Drake got things started with a 36-yard run on the first offensive snap of the game.
Drake would finish with a game-high 110 rushing yards on 15 carries and he also caught four passes for 52 yards, including a two-point conversion.
“He’s a consummate professional,” Fitzgerald said. “He went to Alabama so you know he’s been coached and prepared to play at the highest level. It was great to be able to see him jump in and be a dynamic playmaker like he’s always been his whole life.”
Garoppolo, though, led the 49ers on touchdown drives of 59, 76 and 80 yards to take a 21-7 lead at the half. Garoppolo (28 of 37, no interceptions) hit tight end George Kittle for a 30-yard strike – the ninth touchdown by a tight end against the Cardinals – and threw a 7-yarder to Kendrick Bourne along with the 1-yarder to Sanders.
“He’s always poised, so can never really tell if he’s flustered or anything because he’s always the same,” Bourne said of Garoppolo. “I think that’s the reason he’s so good; he doesn’t get flustered by anything.”
Murray finished with 241 passing yards, completing 17 of 24 throws with no turnovers for a fifth straight week as he become the first opposing quarterback to throw for more than 100 net yards against the 49ers in the past five weeks.