49ers outscore Cardinals, overcome injuries, but can they sustain this kind of success?
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco 49ers' biggest question mark entering Sunday afternoon's clash against the Arizona Cardinals involved its defensive line. How would the unit hold up sans Nick Bosa, Romello Height, James Thompson Jr. and others?
Visit sportbet.reviews for more information.
The answer, for at least a little bit, was pretty well.
San Francisco's makeshift defensive front, which included a hodgepodge of practice squad elevations, recent signees and depth pieces on the original 53-man roster, pressured Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett on 41.7% of plays during the defense's first three drives. The 49ers appeared energized, especially in a second quarter in which Arizona gained just six rushing yards on four attempts.
But as the game wore on, the Cardinals kept running the ball. And the 49ers' defensive line began to show cracks. Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft, had his best performance yet as a pro. He ran for 90 yards on 21 carries after totaling just 70 yards in his first two NFL games. And Brissett began to throw the ball with ease. The 49ers' pressure rate plummeted to 25%. On a crucial drive with the 49ers up 29-20 in the fourth quarter, Brissett threw six straight completions, largely in a no-huddle offense. The QB's directive was clear: take advantage of an exhausted and beat up San Francisco defense.
By game's end, Arizona had dominated its counterpart in time of possession, 38:44 to 21:16. Brock Purdy and the offense did their job with their opportunities, scoring four touchdowns through the air and gaining 140 yards on the ground, but the 49ers' defense simply couldn't get off the field. Arizona's slow-burn 14-play drive that cut its deficit to two late in the fourth reflected this theme. The 49ers' offense responded with a quick seven-play, 75-yard drive while taking just 80 seconds off the clock, capped by a 35-yard Purdy scramble and an electrifying George Kittle touchdown.
The fourth quarter was way too close for comfort, but a win is a win, as the 49ers came out on top 36-30.
49ers 36, Cardinals 30
Arizona06717-30San Francisco710613-36First Quarter
SF: Samuel 82 pass from Purdy (Piñeiro kick), 8:26. Drive: 3 plays, 85 yards, 00:52. San Francisco 7, Arizona 0.
Second Quarter
SF: Evans 23 pass from Purdy (Piñeiro kick), 14:55. Drive: 10 plays, 93 yards, 5:16. Key Plays: Purdy 13 pass to McCaffrey on 3rd-and-7; Purdy 26 pass to Watkins on 3rd-and-12; Purdy 12 pass to Kittle. San Francisco 14, Arizona 0.
Ari: FG Ryland 26, 3:03. Drive: 14 plays, 54 yards, 8:09. Key Plays: Brissett 18 pass to McBride; Brissett 9 pass to McBride on 3rd-and-10; Brissett 7 pass to Mi.Wilson on 4th-and-1; Brissett 4 pass to Love on 3rd-and-12. San Francisco 14, Arizona 3.
Ari: FG Ryland 41, :23. Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 1:07. Key Plays: Brissett 14 pass to Harrison; Brissett 17 pass to Mi.Wilson; Brissett 11 pass to Mi.Wilson. San Francisco 14, Arizona 6.
SF: FG Piñeiro 57, :00. Drive: 4 plays, 34 yards, 00:23. Key Plays: Samuel kick return to San Francisco 27; Purdy 34 pass to Watkins. San Francisco 17, Arizona 6.
Third Quarter
SF: McCaffrey 1 run (kick failed), 11:07. Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 3:53. Key Plays: Samuel kick return to San Francisco 44; Purdy 11 pass to Kittle; Purdy 18 pass to Kittle on 3rd-and-2; Purdy 12 pass to McCaffrey. San Francisco 23, Arizona 6.
Ari: Mi.Wilson 5 pass from Brissett (Ryland kick), 3:02. Drive: 15 plays, 69 yards, 8:05. Key Plays: Brooks kick return to Arizona 31; Brissett 13 pass to McBride; Brissett 6 pass to Mi.Wilson on 3rd-and-8; Brissett 5 pass to Mi.Wilson on 4th-and-2; Love 8 run on 3rd-and-4. San Francisco 23, Arizona 13.
Fourth Quarter
Ari: Love 1 pass from Brissett (Ryland kick), 13:06. Drive: 5 plays, 28 yards, 2:25. San Francisco 23, Arizona 20.
SF: Kittle 10 pass from Purdy (kick failed), 8:42. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:24. Key Plays: Purdy 11 pass to Kittle; McCaffrey 10 run; Samuel 11 run. San Francisco 29, Arizona 20.
Ari: Brissett 1 run (Ryland kick), 2:51. Drive: 15 plays, 68 yards, 5:51. Key Plays: Brooks kick return to Arizona 32; Brissett 19 pass to Harrison on 3rd-and-11; Brissett 2 run on 3rd-and-1; Brissett 14 pass to Bourne on 3rd-and-1; Brissett 4 pass to McBride on 3rd-and-2. San Francisco 29, Arizona 27.
SF: Kittle 20 pass from Purdy (Piñeiro kick), 1:30. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 1:20. Key Plays: Purdy 11 pass to McCaffrey; McCaffrey 12 run. San Francisco 36, Arizona 27.
Ari_FG Ryland 49, :34. Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 00:57. Key Plays: Brooks kick return to Arizona 34; Brissett 18 pass to Mi.Wilson. San Francisco 36, Arizona 30.
A: 70,687.
___
AriSFFIRST DOWNS2723Rushing67Passing1814Penalty32THIRD DOWN EFF9-185-8FOURTH DOWN EFF2-20-0TOTAL NET YARDS365437Total Plays8150Avg Gain4.58.7NET YARDS RUSHING93140Rushes2723Avg per rush3.4446.087NET YARDS PASSING272297Sacked-Yds lost2-80-0Gross-Yds passing280297Completed-Att.38-5215-27Had Intercepted00Yards-Pass Play5.03711.0KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB7-2-26-0-0PUNTS-Avg.4-50.253-48.333Punts blocked00FGs-PATs blocked0-00-0TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE17786Punt Returns2-202-7Kickoff Returns6-1574-79Interceptions0-00-0PENALTIES-Yds10-867-69FUMBLES-Lost0-01-1TIME OF POSSESSION38:4421:16___
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Arizona, Love 21-90, Brissett 4-4, Allgeier 2-(minus 1). San Francisco, McCaffrey 15-75, Purdy 2-34, Black 4-17, Samuel 2-14.
PASSING: Arizona, Brissett 38-52-0-280. San Francisco, Purdy 15-27-0-297.
RECEIVING: Arizona, Mi.Wilson 11-89, McBride 9-75, Love 5-19, Allgeier 4-10, Harrison 3-40, Higgins 3-20, Bourne 2-22, Long 1-5. San Francisco, Kittle 6-82, McCaffrey 4-41, Evans 3-34, Watkins 2-60.
PUNT RETURNS: Arizona, Duvernay 2-20. San Francisco, Cowing 1-7, Neal 1-0.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Arizona, Brooks 5-128, Duvernay 1-29. San Francisco, Samuel 4-79.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS: Arizona, Gibbens 4-4-0, Melton 3-1-0, Ma.Wilson 2-4-0, Burke 2-0-0, Collins 2-0-0, Wingard 1-9-0, Baker 1-3-0, Browning 1-1-0, W.Williams 1-1-0, Leota 0-2-0, Nolen 0-1-0, Robinson 0-1-0, Stills 0-1-0, G.Williams 0-1-0. San Francisco, Warner 8-9-0, Green 7-6-0, Greenlaw 3-5-0, J.Jones 3-2-0, Lenoir 3-2-0, Kareem 3-0-0, Brown 2-4-0, Sigle 2-2-0, Halton 2-1-0, Wallow 2-1-0, Mustapha 1-3-0, White 1-2-1, Valdez 1-2-0, Okoronkwo 1-0-1, Dugger 1-0-0, Stout 0-2-0, Givens 0-1-0, N.Jones 0-1-0, Odighizuwa 0-1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS: Arizona, None. San Francisco, None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.
___
OFFICIALS: Referee Brad Allen, Ump Marcus Woods, HL Sarah Thomas, LJ Walter Flowers, FJ Anthony Flemming, SJ Chad Hill, BJ Tyree Walton, Replay Jim Van Geffen.
Beyond the football itself, there was another familiar story from the game: injuries. As early as when the 49ers held an 11-point lead entering halftime, matters got dark at Levi's Stadium despite a sunny Sunday afternoon. There were seven injuries of varying degrees. Only one appears to be serious - wide receiver Mike Evans was ruled out after exiting on a cart in the second quarter with a rib injury. But the sheer number of players who went down in the second half was almost unfathomable.
It started when cornerback Deommodore Lenoir banged helmets with linebacker Fred Warner in the second quarter (he was evaluated for a concussion and later returned). Then, Evans, whose status entering Sunday was in question due to a hip injury, went down in a heap holding his right side. In the third quarter, offensive tackle Trent Williams got carted to the locker room, leaving fans in a momentary state of panic; he'd sustained a shoulder stinger and returned to the sideline, but not to the game.
There were other scares, involving defensive tackle Gracen Halton (cramps), defensive end Khalid Kareem (undisclosed), cornerback Renardo Green (concussion evaluation) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (undisclosed), though none of these appeared to be immediately serious.
As long as San Francisco remains this banged up, questions will persist about why it keeps happening.
Subscribe
There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at 49ers outscore Cardinals, overcome injuries, but can they sustain this kind of success?.