Niner Noise
FanSided

3 reasons why SF 49ers lost ugly to Cardinals in Week 1

By Nathan Bannerman

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 13: DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled just shy of the goal line by Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The Arizona Cardinals scored the game-winning play on the next play. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 13: DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Arizona Cardinals is tackled just shy of the goal line by Jaquiski Tartt #29 of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The Arizona Cardinals scored the game-winning play on the next play. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Raheem Mostert, SF 49ers
Running back Raheem Mostert #31 of the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The SF 49ers start the 2020 campaign with a 24-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The SF 49ers home opener came in like a lion and out like a lamb. There was lots of excitement heading into Sunday’s afternoon matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, but it was all muffled after a disastrous showing by the regaining NFC Champs.

A famous quote comes to mind when looking back at this game, ironically from former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green: “They are who we thought they were.”

The SF 49ers knew the Cardinals were going to play them extremely tough. They knew Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray was dangerous. They knew wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was going to shine in his first game with his new team.

But maybe Niners forgot they were supposed to be the better team? There wasn’t a lot of rollover from the offseason, which is great for consistency sake. However, it looked like the SF 49ers were all playing together for the first time.

Could it have been from the bad air due to the California fires? No Faithful in the stands to provide the team with a boost when they needed it? Whatever it was, they played ugly.

The SF 49ers were hit with the injury bug before kickoff. Wide receivers Deebo Samuel (foot) and Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) missed the game, while offensive lineman Ben Garland (ankle) also sat out.

Nevertheless, the SF 49ers showed sparks of being the NFC powerhouse we expect them to be. But they’ll need to clean up a lot of points starting with penalties.