CARDINALS

Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. “We protected better. We gave him a chance. They were giving us Andre (Ellington) underneath, and he was taking it. Andre was making things happen.” So, eventually, was Fitzgerald. He had three catches for 13 yards before the winning grab as the 49ers made him the emphasis of their defense, except on the last play.

Palmer said he noticed two defenders were changing sides of the field, leaving Fitzgerald 1-on-1. Palmer loves those odds.

Arizona’s standout receiver, in his 14th pro season, rose to catch the ball under tight coverage by Rashard Robinson.

Fitzgerald, who matched a career high with 13 catches in last Monday night’s loss to Dallas, came down with the ball under his ribs, knocking the wind out of him.

“Consciously, I knew that we had just won the game,” he said, “but I couldn’t breathe so it was hard to really kind of be animated and celebrate.”

Robbie Gould kicked his fifth field goal, a 23-yarder with 2:24 left in overtime to put the 49ers ahead 15-12.

Phil Dawson — who had uncharacteristically missed a field goal in each of the first three games — made four for the Cardinals (2-2), whose two victories both have come in overtime.

The 49ers (0-4), losing to the Cardinals for the fifth time in a row, won the coin toss to start the overtime. They used up 7:36 of the extra session, which was shortened from 15 to 10 minutes this season.

Palmer went 6 of 7 for 77 yards on the winning drive. Under duress all day behind an injury-riddled offensive line, he completed 33 of 51 for 357 yards and was intercepted in the end zone on a tipped pass on the game’s opening series. Palmer was sacked six times, four in the fourth quarter, by a 49ers team that had three sacks total in the first three games.