Week 6: 49ers Win third straight behind Davis' monster day

With both teams entering Sunday's game at 3-2 respectively and riding a two game winning-streak, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC West showdown with both teams vying for a win to gain sole possession of second place in the division and keep pace with the division-leading Seattle Seahawks. Things couldn't have been drawn up any better for the 49ers to begin the game on defense as they returned two early Carson Palmer interceptions inside the 20-yard line. But where the defense excelled, the offense struggled.

A sluggish start to the game for QB Colin Kaepernick and company enabled Arizona to stick around until late in the fourth quarter as the San Francisco offense failed to take advantage of three early trips to the red zone. The first two trips resulted in field goals by Phil Dawson while the third ended in an interception on a tipped pass intended for fullback Bruce Miller inside the end zone. But Kaepernick would eventually get things going as he began to utilize his best weapon through the air as it soon turned into the Vernon Davis show at Candlestick. The Pro Bowl tight-end would have a career day, hauling in touchdown grabs of 61 and 35 yards, logging a career-high 180 receiving yards total while displaying a flurry of acrobatic catches including one reminiscent of another bay area great by the name of Willie Mays. Davis' personal-best 180 yards receiving would also be the second most by a tight-end in the last 10 years. Despite Davis' spectacular showing, it wasn't enough to keep Arizona from nibbling at San Francisco's heels practically all game long.

Cardinals QB Carson Palmer would show flashes of why he was named to a pair of Pro Bowl's while a member of the Cincinnati Bengals by throwing for a pair of touchdowns and finishing the game with 298 yards passing to keep his team in it. But he would also have his fair share of mistakes as the 49er defense picked him off twice and sacked him in the end zone for a safety. Leading 22-20 in the final minutes of the third quarter, the Niners would get a much needed takeaway when linebacker Patrick Willis made a tackle on Larry Fitzgerald, forcing him to fumble. The fumble would be recovered by rookie safety Eric Reid who also finished with his team-leading third interception on the year in the first quarter before later being joined by Carlos Rogers who picked off Palmer two drives later for his first of the season. San Francisco won the turnover battle and forced a total of four turnovers for the second consecutive week with the help of another rookie in Corey Lemonier who was selected in the third round of April's NFL Draft earlier this year. The first-year player out of Auburn finished the game with his first career sack as well as a forced fumble and a safety while filling in for the absent Aldon Smith.

Back to the offense, Davis wouldn't be the only one who finished the game with a nice stat line as 49ers running back Frank Gore would do what he's done so often against the Cardinals by logging another stellar performance by rushing for 101 yards on Sunday. However, it would be Gore's running mate Kendall Hunter who would put the icing on the cake as Arizona trailed by two with six minutes remaining in regulation before Hunter made his way into the end zone for a late score. Kicker Phil Dawson went 3-for-3 in the field goal department including a 44 yarder to seal the 32-20 victory for the 49ers. 

Week 7 Preview: After two games at the 'Stick, Jim Harbaugh hopes to continue his teams winning ways away from home as the 49ers prepare for their first game of a two-game road trip against the (3-3) Tennessee Titans. Having been without quarterback Jake Locker the past two weeks due to a hip and knee injury, the Titans, losers of two straight, will have their QB back on Sunday much earlier than expected. But with a stout 49er defense in town, I'm not sure giving Locker the nod is a good idea given he won't be at 100%. The meeting will also mean a reunion with Titans tight-end Delanie Walker and his former team as Walker signed with Tennessee as a free-agent during the off-season. With the 49ers having success running the ball in each of their last three games, expect the trend to continue on Sunday.


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