3 winners (and 3 losers) from 49ers' stressful victory over Cardinals

The 49ers won ugly and gritty to go 3-0 and atop the NFC West in a game they would have lost last year. In such a tight game, there were quite a few winners and losers.

Not every win is going to be a pretty one when it comes to watching the film, but a win is a win no matter how you do it, and that's certainly true of the San Francisco 49ers and their 16-15 Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

After a game where it seemed like a touchdown might never get scored, both teams finally found some offense (relatively speaking) to make it 13-13 before a late safety saw Arizona get the lead 15-13 and the ball back in scenes that seemed eeriely similar to ways the Niners lost games last season.

Read More: 49ers survive NFC West bout vs. Cardinals by most inexplicable means ever


But then, something weird happened and the 49ers defense again came to life, getting the ball back, thanks to a pass breakup by rookie nickel back Upton Stout, giving San Francisco one final chance.

Somehow, backup quarterback Mac Jones looked like the second coming of Joe Montana, coolly slicing and dicing his way through the Arizona defense to put the hopes on 49ers kicker Eddy Piniero.

Piniero made no mistakes, slotting it through the uprights and sending the home crowd into hysteria and the Niners into first place in the NFC West after the Los Angeles Rams couldn't get it done against the Philadelphia Eagles.

With reinforcements due back soon, banking wins like these cannot be understated in its importance, and they're games the Niners weren't winning last year.

Let's look at the winners and losers.

49ers Week 3 winners

Eddy Pineiro

Someone give this man a longer contract.

After a slightly nervy start in the red and gold, Eddy Pineiro has been just about as flawless as you can hope for a team that needed consistent play when going for three points. The field goal wasn't exactly some 60-yard miracle effort, admittedly, but the ball went right down the middle.

If there were any doubts if Pineiro was the answer at kicker, they've been at least silenced if not answered right now.

Mykel Williams

When Nick Bosa went down in the first quarter, it was expected the lid would come off for the Cardinals and their offense would start to dictate affairs for the rest of the game.

Nobody bothered to give Mykel Williams a copy of the script, however.

Williams was an absolute force in this game. He's already played a big role in fixing the porous run defense the Niners had last year, but his ability to produce a consistent presence in the interior on passing downs this early is something special.

The kid is just a stud, pure and simple.

Ricky Pearsall

We've seen enough, haven't we? Ricky Pearsall is a No. 1 receiver.

The 49ers have been without a lot of their weapons for all or most of the first three weeks, but it hasn't stopped Ricky Pearsall producing no matter who the quarterback is.

Pearsall had eight receptions for 117 yards, constantly finding holes in the Cardinals defense and causing them absolute fits just when it seems like San Francisco's passing offense was bottled up. Including an audacious catch over his shoulder on a deep ball thrown on fourth down.

Through three games, Pearsall has 16 catches for 281 yards. He doesn't have a touchdown. He deserves one. He deserves 10. He's looking every bit the first-round pick invested in him.

49ers Week 3 losers

Nick Bosa

It's unfair to call Nick Bosa a loser, per se, but anyone who suffered a potentially serious injury in the endless carousel that is the Niners injury report has to be here by proxy, unfortunately.

The 49ers have some decent defensive line depth, but as of time of writing, the prognosis is not yet known for Bosa.

A short- or even medium-term injury might be something San Francisco can cover, but something more serious would be a serious dent in the 49ers' playoff aspirations.

Connor Colby

It was a baptism of fire for the seventh-round rookie who had his first official start this week. Connor Colby got flagged and beat a few times as the Cardinals defense found him to be a weak point.

Now to come to his defense, he did have some good moments as well, so it's hardly a sign it's time to abandon him as a starter.

It just wasn't the best game for him.

Renardo Green

Renardo Green was promising as a rookie, but he's been completely picked on as opposing offenses don't want anything to do with Deommodore Lenoir, and rookie nickelback Upton Stout has been making some splash plays to go with his rookie growing pains.

Now, it wasn't as though the defense was horrible, but his flag where he committed clear as daylight pass interference on a receiver who the ball wasn't even intended for was hard to watch.

Teams will continue to pick on him and avoid Lenoir, and Green must get comfortable defending his man and keeping his eye on the ball.