Tag: 49ers cardinals

49ers offense headlines takeaways from Week 4 romp over Cardinals

Some takeaways from another #49ers romp.

The 49ers’ story line coming out of each of their first four games in 2023 has largely been the same. They’ve controlled their four games, scored 30 points, played good defense, and in general have just been the better team in each of their four games.

Luckily each one has provided a little something different from a micro sense that allows us to take away some new things from each one despite a largely similar outcome for each.

Here’s what we took away from San Francisco’s 35-16 win over the Cardinals in Week 4:

Behind Enemy Lines: Should the Cardinals be 3-0?

Are the Cardinals not that bad? We asked our friends at Cards Wire about the #49ers’ Week 4 opponent.

The Cardinals in Week 3 shocked the NFL world when they knocked off the heavily-favored Dallas Cowboys 28-16 at State Farm Stadium. That victory served as a wake-up call for the 49ers that their Week 4 opponent wasn’t going to be a pushover.

Even before the Week 3 thumping of the Cowboys though it was clear Arizona was doing something right and just not finishing games.

To get some more insight on them we hit up our buddy Jess Root, the managing editor at Cards Wire. He answered some questions for us and dished out a prediction for Sunday’s game:

Kyle Shanahan: Cardinals ‘really should be 3-0 right now’

Kyle Shanahan believes the Cardinals are a couple plays away from entering their Week 4 matchup vs. the #49ers undefeaed.

The Arizona Cardinals pulled off a sizable upset in Week 3 when they knocked off the Cowboys 28-16 at State Farm Stadium. It was the Cardinals’ first win of the year, but it’s not something 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is writing off as a fluke.

Shanahan on Wednesday was asked how his 3-0 49ers club that’s loaded with talent doesn’t overlook a team that many before the season (us included!) had marked as an easy victory for San Francisco in Week 4.

“Yeah, but all you have to do is watch the two games before that also,” Shanahan said. “They had every chance to win versus Washington in Week 1. I believe that they should have. I forget the exact score, but I want to say it was like 27-7 in the third quarter versus the Giants and they had every chance to win that and it got away from them at the end. Dallas was very similar, but they didn’t turn it over there at the end and they kept finishing and keeping them out of the red zone and ended up not being close. So, they’re a team that really should be 3-0 right now.”

To Shanahan’s point, the Cardinals led the Commanders going into the fourth quarter at Washington in Week 1. They had one third-quarter drive stall out in the red zone, then fumbled while driving to take the lead late in the fourth.

In Week 2 they were all over the Giants 28-7 at home late in the third quarter. Arizona punted once from the Giants’ 44 in the fourth quarter and then couldn’t get a stop as New York racked up four TDs and a game-winning field goal in their five second-half possessions.

There’s an easy case to be made that they’re two or three plays away from being 3-0.

That might ultimately help San Francisco focus in against a Cardinals squad that just two seasons ago went to Levi’s Stadium and blew out the 49ers with Colt McCoy starting at quarterback.

The 49ers are significantly better than this version of the Cardinals, but if they try and overlook them they could easily wind up like Dallas.

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7 takeaways from 49ers’ regular season finale vs. Cardinals

7 takeaways from 49ers-Cardinals, but really 6 takeaways that should for the most part have some impact on the playoffs:

The 49ers’ finished their 2022 regular season with a resounding 38-13 thumping of the visiting Arizona Cardinals. The win moved the 49ers to 13-4 on the season and extended their winning streak to a remarkable 10 games. They’ve not lost since Week 7, all the way back on Oct. 23.

In a game where playoffs were at the front of everyone’s mind, it was hard to glean much from the 49ers-Cardinals matchup in the traditional single-game sense, but we found a handful of things that stuck out that should continue to matter heading into the playoffs:

49ers avoid major injury issues in final regular season game

The #49ers got a win against the Cardinals, but most importantly they got out healthy.

The 49ers got out of their season finale against the Cardinals with a 38-13 win and only one injury reported.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan in his press conference immediately after the game said linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles exited the game with a neck injury. That was the only injury update from a game where health was perhaps more paramount than the final score.

There’s no timeline for Flannigan-Fowles’ injury. He’s become a key special teams member and the first LB off the bench when an injury occurs in that unit. Oren Burks finished the game in his spot.

Beyond that there were no issues for running backs Christian McCaffrey or Elijah Mitchell, or wide receiver Deebo Samuel. All three were dealing with some form of injury issues during the week and all three emerged healthy.

Staying healthy was one of the things foremost on Shanahan’s mind during the week.

“Yes. Huge relief,” Shanahan said. “It was a stressful week when you know you need to win, but you know what you’re doing the next week also, so to be able to pull off the win, protect the guys a little bit there at the end, and to get out without any serious injuries, we were very relieved.”

The 49ers wound up pulling starters beginning in the third quarter and it paid off. They got a win and they’ll head into the postseason as healthy as they’ve been in a long time.

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Notes and observations from 49ers’ romp over Cardinals

Notes and observations from the 49ers’ 10th win in a row:

The 49ers started slow against the Cardinals in their season finale, but they got rolling in the second half and routed Arizona 38-13 at Levi’s Stadium.

An early win by Minnesota meant the 49ers needed the win to secure the No. 2 seed. Philadelphia’s victory meant the 49ers couldn’t climb up to the No. 1 spot.

Here are our notes and observations from the 49ers’s 10th-consecutive win:

Tashaun Gipson pulls down 2nd INT on another terrible throw

Tashaun Gipson snagged a second INT off another terrible David Blough throw.

Not really sure what Cardinals quarterback David Blough is looking at here, but his attempted deep shot was a disaster that ended in 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson’s second interception of the game. The pick was reminiscent of the one he got earlier in the game, only this time Blough’s throw was a little more purposeful. It definitely wasn’t better, but it for sure had more purpose. Regardless it ended in a second takeaway for San Francisco.

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49ers inactives: No healthy starters resting

The #49ers aren’t resting anyone Sunday. Here’s their inactive list for the regular-season finale:

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The 49ers won’t be resting any players Sunday in their season finale. Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell will all suit up after dealing with injury issues during the week. Defensive linemen Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw were listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. They’re both active.

Here’s who won’t suit up for San Francisco:

LG Aaron Banks (ankle, knee)
QB Jimmy Garoppolo (foot)
DL Kevin Givens (knee)
LB Dre Greenlaw (back)
CB Ambry Thomas (ankle)
TE Ross Dwelley
DE Drake Jackson

Jackson is a healthy scratch for the second time in the last three games. The 49ers will instead load up on interior linemen against a Cardinals team on their fourth-string quarterback with no wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the lineup.

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3 keys to 49ers taking control of NFC West with primetime win over Arizona

3 keys to a #49ers victory over the Cardinals on Monday Night Football. (via @nicholasmcgee24)

The 49ers have a clear opportunity to take control of the NFC West in front of them when they face the Cardinals at Estadio Azteca

San Francisco can move to 6-4 and to the top of the division courtesy of its head-to-head record against the Seahawks with a win in Mexico City in primetime.

Victory would also see the 49ers move to 4-0 in the division, putting them in an excellent position to reach the postseason as NFC West champions.

But the Cardinals have won three of the last four meetings and have continually proven tricky opposition for the Niners. Even with Colt McCoy set to deputize for Kyler Murray at quarterback for Arizona, there may be some reason for concern about a potential upset for a San Francisco team that has already suffered a couple in 2022.

Here we look at the keys to the 49ers avoiding a shock loss and taking command of the division.



Plenty of good to go around the bad from 49ers’ Week 5 loss to Cardinals

What was good and what was bad in the #49ers’ loss to the Cardinals?

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The 49ers went into Arizona with a rookie quarterback and gave themselves a real chance to knock off the NFL’s last undefeated team.

While the disappointment from a 17-10 loss comes with a number of things San Francisco can do better and players who can perform better, there was a ton of good to pull out of a disappointing defeat in the desert.

Here’s some of the good and some of the bad from Sunday afternoon: