5 takeaways from 49ers comeback win over Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-26 at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday. Niner Noise takes a look at the five most important takeaways from the contest.
In one of their more exciting games of the season, the San Francisco 49ers defeated division foes the Arizona Cardinals 36-26 in a wild game at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Initially, the Cardinals and rookie quarterback Kyler Murray picked up where they left off at the end of their Thursday Night Football loss at home two weeks ago, as Arizona jumped out to a 16-0 early in the second quarter. The worst part was the Niners defense looked beaten and the offense had managed just 30 yards of total offense.
The 49ers responded, however, as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo found tight end Ross Dwelley, who was once again filling in for an injured George Kittle, for the first of Dwelley’s two touchdowns.
A field goal as the half expired cut the halftime deficit to 16-10.
The second half was a teeter-totter, as the Niners took their first lead of the game on another Garoppolo-to-Dwelley connection, which the Cardinals quickly stole away, taking advantage of a particularly bad Garoppolo interception to take a 19-17 lead heading into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, everything got really crazy, as the Niners took the lead early on Garoppolo’s third touchdown pass, this time a laser to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne:
The Cardinals regained the lead on a 22-yard touchdown scamper by Murray. But Garoppolo and the offense proceeded to drive 65 yards on just eight plays in 1:41, ending with an incredible throw-catch-and-run from the quarterback to running back Jeff Wilson Jr.:
The Cardinals got the ball back, however, with a chance to win, but newest 49er, defense end Damontre Moore, forced a fumble to get the offense the ball back with 25 seconds left on the clock and the Cardinals with all three timeouts.
A turnover on downs gave Arizona one last shot, albeit a desperate one, and the 49ers defense managed to create one of the more bizarre endings to a game this season.
All this to say, while the 49ers won, pushing their record to 9-1, there are many takeaways, both good and bad, to gleam from this contest. Let’s start with possibly the most obvious: the 49ers quarterback.