The San Francisco 49ers threw spoilers for Arizona Cardinals’ postseason hopes with a 20-12 win, earning their first win at State Farm Stadium since the move in Week 13. Here are six competition results.
Despite lacking in manpower, the San Francisco defense struggled to keep Kyler Murray and Co. in check. Richard Sherman (calf), Jimmie Ward (concussion), Javon Kinlaw (knee) and several other defensive players were eliminated in Saturday’s contest, but the defense remained stable, making several outstanding plays while holding Arizona out of the end zone for almost the entire contest.
Here are some highlights of the 49ers’ defensive performance against the Cardinals:
- San Francisco started the hot competition. Arizona managed to march on the field to open the dispute, however, a string of moves by reserves Marcell Harris, Tarvarius Moore and Ahkello Witherspoon kept the Cardinals’ high-powered attack out of the final zone and having to settle for three.
- Fred Warner recorded the 49ers’ first takeaway of the day in a tackle against Cardinals tight end Dan Arnold. Warner and Azeez Al-Shaair dropped the tight end as the ball dropped on its way to the ground. The linebacker continued his All-Pro campaign, hitting a fourth pass down in the fourth period that gave San Francisco possession of the ball within the Cardinals’ territory. Warner ended the game by leading the 49ers with 14 tackles, eight solo.
- In the 49ers’ first encounter with the Cardinals, the 49ers had no answer for DeAndre Hopkins, who recorded 151 yards in 14 receptions. It was a completely different story in Week 16, partly due to cornerback Jason Verrett. Verrett recorded a wide separation of passes in a green touchdown from Murray to Hopkins before the break. He also prevented Hopkins from becoming the Cardinals’ fourth final play to seal the victory. Hopkins was limited to just eight receptions for 48 yards on Saturday.
- The game came with less than five minutes to go before the clash with Arizona in the scoring position. In the 2nd and 11th of the 49ers’ 11-yard line, Murray kicked at the end of the final zone in a pass aimed at Christian Kirk, with Witherspoon, who started in Sherman’s place, jumped ahead of the receiver for the interception.
“The ups and downs that Ahkello went through this year and the way he has been playing for the past two weeks, the way he played today, says a lot about the guy,” said Shanahan after the game. “Some guys got hurt, so he had his chance again. And because of the way he behaved when adversity hit him, that’s why he was ready for this opportunity. He helped us last week. He helped us a lot again. today, and it will help you in your career as well. “
- K’Waun Williams was another defensive highlight. Nickel singing recorded a sack against Murray, his second of the season and sixth of his career. The corner reached Murray in a blitz for a seven-yard loss. He also deflected a pass intended for Larry Fitzgerald that fell incomplete.
- Kerry Hyder Jr. and DJ Jones also recorded sacks. Hyder Jr. recorded his team leader 8.5 sack this season. Jones now has 3.0 in the year.
Just a week ago, Murray achieved a 400-yard performance, four touchdowns in total, while averaging more than 11 yards per attempt against the Philadelphia Eagles. The story was different on Saturday, when the San Francisco defense kept the defender at 60 percent to 247 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception for a low passer score in the season of 66.0. The 49ers limited Arizona to 4.4 yards per move and 25% on third runs. The quarterback still managed to put 75 yards on the ground, including his 30-yard pickup before Witherspoon’s interception.
In his first start of the season, CJ Beathard managed a performance of three touchdowns while completing 13 of 22 passes for 192 yards and no interceptions. The quarterback gave touchdowns to Jeff Wilson Jr. and Kyle Juszczyk (2) and connected with seven different receivers on the day.
The quarterback also advanced 18 yards on the ground in two planned races.
“I thought CJ played very well. I thought he made a few plays in the passing game. He did a good job in the zone readings,” said Shanahan. “Just his leadership out there – the way the guys gravitated around him. You could feel it during the week in practice. He came on Wednesday when he received his reps, so ready to go. I think you can tell how hard they played for him too. I was very impressed with CJ and I am very happy for him today. “
The San Francisco attack ended the day with 398 yards of total attack in just 55 offensive moves (against 80 from Arizona), averaging 7.2 yards per move.
Beathard benefited from having his ex-tight end Hawkeyes on the field on Saturday, when Kittle led the 49ers pass catchers in his first game since Week 8. Kittle ended the day with 4 of 5 receptions for 92 yards. The tight end embraced the contact, forcing the defenders to make a mistake by taking yards after the contact.
Kittle was also instrumental in the 49ers’ racing game, helping to open up breaches for Jeff Wilson Jr.’s career day (see below).
“Everyone sees on the pitch what it means to us, how good he is in the running game and the passing game. Just having him training is different,” said Shanahan. “We knew that just getting a part of us for him and dressing him today would be able to help a ton. With just what he was able to do, even statistically in the pass game and always in the running game, I can’t say the enough about George. “
With Raheem Mostert done for the rest of the season, Wilson Jr. took the San Francisco lead back and made a career performance. Wilson ended the day with a career record of 183 yards, running on 22 loads and hitting a 21-yard reception for a touchdown, his eighth score of the season.
Wilson Jr.’s 204 yards of scrimmage were the highest for 49ers running back since Frank Gore in 2009. (Week 2 vs. Seattle Seahawks – 207 yards)
The 227 shipyards in San Francisco were the biggest production of the season.