Tag: 49ers Rumors

Notes and observations from wild 36-26 49ers win over Cardinals

The 49ers needed ever second of Sunday’s game to pull away with a 36-26 win.

The 49ers escaped Levi’s Stadium with a 36-26 victory over the Cardinals. It wasn’t pretty, but San Francisco takes a 9-1 record into Week 12.

Here are our notes and observations from the contest:

– Emmanuel Moseley started opposite Richard Sherman even though Ahkello Witherspoon is active.

– Fred Warner made a nice tackle on a zone read from Kyler Murray. Murray still picked up six, but Warner’s shoestring stop saved a huge gain.

– Christian Kirk had a step on Richard Sherman on a third-and-7 on Arizona’s opening series, but Sherman dragged him down and forced an incompletion. There was no flag, but Kliff Kingsbury challenged the play and won. A stunner. Arizona gets a first-and-goal at the 3.

– The Cardinals got a wide open touchdown to tight end Charles Clay, but offensive pass interference was called on Kirk. The pick in the middle of the end zone was pretty clear on Moseley.

– Ward broke up a pass on third-and-goal to force a Cardinals field goal. He’s having a good year. It’s 3-0, Arizona with 10:31 left in the first.

– Jimmy Garoppolo’s first throw to a wide receiver went through Deebo Samuel’s hands on a third-and-5 on San Francisco’s opening series. Not a good start for the offense.

– This Cardinals offense gives San Francisco fits. Their ability to stress the defense horizontally is a real problem.

– Jullian Taylor had a nice stop for a loss on a run up the middle on Arizona’s second series. Getting Arizona behind the sticks is vital.

– Richard Sherman was flagged for pass interference again inside the 5.  He’s having a rough game.

– Easy touchdown for the Cardinals after the 49ers left Larry Fitzgerald uncovered in the slot. He went unimpeded into the end zone and made an uncontested catch. A missed extra point made it 9-0 Cardinals.

– The 49ers were gifted a first down on a deep shot from Garoppolo to Emmanuel Sanders. He underthrew it and a flag came out for pass interference on cornerback Patrick Peterson. It probably should’ve been a no-call.

– Another ball out of the hands of a 49ers WR. This time Kendrick Bourne can’t hold on to a high throw. It wasn’t a great pass and he got whacked.

– The 49ers went for it on a fourth-and-5. Garoppolo lofted a throw for Raheem Mostert, but he dropped it.

– Garoppolo is sacked on third-and-9. This offense and stadium are zapped. A complete 180 from Monday night.

– The ball came out on a Kyler Murray scramble, but he was ruled down on the field. Kyle Shanahan challenged it to no avail. That was probably a waste of a timeout, but he needed something to try and kickstart his club. They’ve come out very flat.

– Murray’s had all day to throw. San Francisco is generating nothing with their pass rush when he does take a deep drop.

– Another easy touchdown. This time it’s Pharoh Cooper. 16-0, Arizona. Fred Warner got up a little slowly after trying to make a touchdown-saving tackle on Cooper.

– That’s one way to get things going. Richie James enters the game and the 49ers set up a screen for him. The speedy receiver went 57 yards to the 49ers up at the Arizona 18. James is a pretty dynamic athlete and should probably . play more than he does.

– Garoppolo had Tevin Coleman wide open for a touchdown on second-and-goal from the 4 and just made a terrible throw. Can’t put that one on the pass catcher.

– It’s a touchdown to Ross Dwelley on third-and-goal. The 49ers needed that drive in the worst way. It’s a five-play, 75-yard drive in 1:11.

– Now it’s the Cardinals that get bailed out on the third PI call of the day on Sherman. He timed it perfectly and the flags still came out. The stop would’ve forced a punt.

– Dee Ford sacked Murray after Damontre Moore applied pressure to get the quarterback out of the pocket. It’s 6.5 for him this season.

– Emmanuel Sanders drops a first-and-10 pass. He’s hurt, but that one hit him in the hands.

– An end-of-half field goal made it 16-10 and San Francisco gets the ball to start the second half. They needed that score.

– Garoppolo found Coleman for a 37-yard gain. A roughing the passer call tacked on 15 more yards and put San Francisco at the Cardinals’ 32. They need big plays to open up the middle of the defense, which has been very stout for Arizona.

– It’s Dwelley Time again. This one counts – a five-yard strike and San Francisco leads after a six-play, 84-yard drive to start the half. The 49ers have scored 17 unanswered points and Garoppolo looks locked in. He’s made some terrific throws.

– DeForest Buckner opened the second half with a sack for the 49ers’ defense. He made a great diving stop to wrap up Murray. It was a huge gain if he didn’t get there.

– K’Waun Williams had a pick-6, but he went for a tackle instead of waiting for the ball. It was the right play, he just misread the overthrow.

– The 49ers were driving again until Garoppolo fired one right into the chest of Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks, who took it back 48 yards into 49ers territory. If Arizona pulls out a victory, that’s the turning point.

– Nick Bosa made a terrific run stop for a loss on a first-and-10. He raced Kenyan Drake to the edge, then cut back with him when he cut back inside and took his legs out.

– Ahkello Witherspoon is in for the injured Emmanuel Moseley and had blanket coverage on a third-and-10 to force an incompletion and a 43-yard field goal. It was good and the 49ers trial 19-17.

– Deebo.

– Kendrick Bourne caught a 3-yard touchdown pass to give San Francisco a 23-19 lead. The receiver needed that bad after a rough outing last week.

– Kyler Murray is really, really good.

– See? A 22-yard scamper on a QB-keeper and the Cardinals lead 25-23. What an electric play by Murray.

– Deebo Samuel has two catches for 34 yards and has helped get San Francisco into field goal range following the Cardinals go-ahead touchdown.

– Ouch. Another Garoppolo interception. This one off the hands of Ross Dwelley. It wasn’t a good throw though, well behind the tight end. That might do it from Santa Clara with 4:32 left.

– A huge sack for Arik Armstead on third-and-5 puts Arizona at fourth-and-16 and they’ll punt with 2:33 left.

– 49ers take over with 2:12 left at their own 34. They have to protect Garoppolo better on this series.

– Wow. Jeff Wilson on a slant with 31 seconds left puts the 49ers up 29-26. It was a 25-yard catch-and-run. Unbelievable.

– Now a fumble, and it’s Damontre Moore who laid a hit on rookie KeeSean Johnson after Moseley wrapped him up. Jaquiski Tartt recovered, and that should do it from Santa Clara. What a game.

– Just kidding. The 49ers recovered a fumble on Arizona’s final possession with two seconds left and ran it in for a touchdown. 36-26 final.

Kendrick Bourne holds on, gives 49ers lead with 3-yard TD

Drops weren’t a problem for the 49ers when they took a 23-19 lead over the Cardinals.

There weren’t any drop issues for the 49ers on their 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended the third quarter and opened the fourth.

Deebo Samuel made a remarkable grab on the sideline, then Kendrick Bourne snatched a 3-yard touchdown grab to give San Francisco the lead.

Those are two huge plays from a receiving corps missing its two best pass catchers. Emmanuel Sanders is dealing with a rib injury and hasn’t been in the game since an awkward tackle early in the third quarter.

Deebo Samuel makes incredible juggling catch

The 49ers drop problem didn’t matter for Deebo Samuel against the Cardinals.

Deebo Samuel might’ve had the catch of the year Sunday against the Cardinals.

Patrick Peterson was flagged for interference, but it didn’t matter with Samuel going over the top of the corner, then juggling it, and eventually securing it as he went to the sideline.

It’s tough to find a more impressive catch than this:

DeForest Buckner notches sack, uses Ronald Blair’s celebration

DeForest Buckner paid tribute to injured DE Ronald Blair with his sack celebration.

DeForest Buckner opened the second half for the 49ers defense with a sack of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

He celebrated by doing Ronald Blair’s signature sack celebration.

Blair tore his ACL on a sack vs. the Seahawks last week and is out for the year. That’s a cool tribute to a teammate by Buckner.

Ross Dwelley finds the end zone again, gives 49ers 17-16 lead

The Cardinals just can’t stop Ross Dwelley.

The 49ers offense cruised down the field to open the second half behind a six-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a go-ahead touchdown.

Jimmy Garoppolo was extremely sharp and overcame a couple penalties to get his team in the end zone. His second touchdown pass of the game was also his second to Ross Dwelley.

The 5-yard score put the 49ers in front for the first time all game.

Dee Ford questionable to return with hamstring injury

The 49ers could take another hit to their already thin defensive line.

The 49ers announced late in the second half defensive end Dee Ford is questionable to return with a hamstring injury.

He left the field gingerly after chasing down Kyler Murray for a sack on the Cardinals’ previous drive.

Ford has been limited nearly all year in practice with a quad injury, so a hamstring injury on top of that isn’t ideal. San Francisco is already thin at defensive end with Ronald Blair out for the year with a torn ACL.

Ford was worked on in the medical tent before walking over to join his teammates at the end of the bench.

Dee Ford chases down Kyler Murray for sack

Dee Ford finally got some pressure on Cardinals QB Kyler Murray.

The 49ers had a hard time flustering Kyler Murray on Sunday, but they did get to him on a second-and-9 midway through the second quarter.

Damontre Moore came off the edge to force Murray out of the pocket, then Dee Ford ran him down for sack No. 6.5 of the year.

 

49ers finally move on offense, Ross Dwelley scores

Ross Dwelley got the 49ers on the board just in time vs. the Cardinals.

The 49ers offense had just two yards going into its third offensive series. They went with a first-play screen to Richie James who took it 57 yards to the Cardinals 18-yard line. Four plays later, Jimmy Garoppolo found Ross Dwelley for a four-yard touchdown.

The 49ers needed that in the worst way, and the screen to James to set it up was a terrific play call from Kyle Shanahan.

No tough decisions in 49ers inactives vs. Cardinals

The 49ers have so many injuries that they didn’t have any choices with their list of inactives.

The 49ers coaching staff didn’t have any tough decisions when it came to their seven inactive players Sunday.

Here’s the list officially submitted by the team prior to Sunday’s game:

OT Joe Staley
QB CJ Beathard
TE George Kittle
RB Matt Breida
K Robbie Gould
LB Azeez Al-Shaair
DT DJ Jones

Really the list was all but confirmed late Saturday morning when the 49ers announced Al-Shaair was downgraded to ‘out’ with a concussion. He joined Staley and Jones as the three players officially out. With Beathard a regular inactive as the third quarterback, there were only three inactive spots left.

Those three spots were the only question marks, and they were officially filled Sunday with Kittle, Breida and Gould – the three players the 49ers labeled ‘doubtful’ leading up to the game.

One silver lining is the absence of Ahkello Witherspoon’s name on the inactive list for the first time since Week 5. He sprained his foot in the Week 3 win over the Steelers and hasn’t played since. Witherspoon was supposed to be back Monday vs. Seattle, but had a setback and was forced to delay his return date.

 

Keys to victory: How 49ers defense can slow Cardinals’ offense

The 49ers defense has to be at its best Sunday against Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals found some success against the vaunted 49ers defense the last time these clubs squared off.

That defense had a strong showing against the Seahawks on Monday night, and with so many injuries on offense, they’ll need another shut-down outing vs. the Cardinals on Sunday. Here are three keys for the 49ers to adjust to, and shut down Kliff Kingsbury’s spread attack:

1. Stop the run

Typically getting a pass-heavy team out of its element and running the ball is a decent strategy. That’s not the case for Kingsbury’s offense though. Arizona ran roughshod over the 49ers on Halloween without either of its top two running backs. Now top running back David Johnson will be back in the lineup, and San Francisco has to ensure Arizona isn’t getting ahead of the sticks with their run game. They become much more difficult to stop if they do.

2. No big plays

An 88-yard touchdown catch from rookie Andy Isabella was a key play in the last meeting between these clubs. The 49ers’ defense wasn’t having a particularly bad game until multiple missed tackles and bad angles allowed the speedy Isabella to score. San Francisco can’t allow another devastating big play like that.

3. Set the tempo

Arizona had a ton of success with an up tempo offense the last time these teams played. The 49ers can limit some of that by forcing incompletions, making sure tackles and not allowing Arizona to get into a rhythm. They’ll surely try it again Sunday, and how San Francisco adjusts to it may be the biggest key of the game.