Niners Dismantled in the Desert

Week 3 - Hoping to put a blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers behind them with a trip to the desert, the San Francisco 49ers saw those hopes vanish quickly on Sunday as rival Arizona bullied their way to a 40-point victory. Niners QB Colin Kaepernick entered the game with one interception in 154 career pass attempts versus the Cardinals, a mark he would surpass on the team's first two offensive drives alone. A career worst 67 passing yards and 4 interceptions highlighted a miserable day for Kaepernick who had two of his first four passes returned for a touchdown as Arizona jumped out front to an early 14-0 lead. The bleeding wouldn't stop there, however, as San Francisco was staring down a 28-point deficit before finally getting on the board via a touchdown run by Kaepernick, set up by an impressive 37-yard punt return from Aussie Jarryd Hayne. Unfortunately, the Niner offense would fail to muster up anymore points as they were blown out of the water, 47-7.

The loss marked the first time since 2005 that San Francisco has lost five straight on the road, all by double-digits as the 49ers were held to a measly 156 total yards on offense. As for Arizona who tallied 446 total yards, not since 1969 have the Cardinals registered back-to-back 40-point performances like they did in week's 2 and 3. Though Cards QB Carson Palmer threw his first interception of the season, the first pick of 49ers cornerback Kenneth Acker's young career, the 35-year old veteran threw for 311 yards and a pair of touchdowns in route to his 16th victory in his last 18 starts and 9th win in a row, the longest active streak in the NFL. Palmer had himself a rather easy day at the office as Arizona was able to turn their opponents costly mistakes into points, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal off of Kaepernick's four interceptions as the Niners were unable to find an answer for Arizona on either side of the ball. With a career-low quarterback rating of 16.7 for Kaepernick on Sunday, the 49ers have now been outscored 90-25 in their last two games and unless they make the needed adjustments quick, that number will only increase with a date with the NFL's best quarterback to follow.

With a forgetful performance from Kaepernick who was made a non-factor thru the air, Niners bell cow Carlos Hyde was also held in check by Arizona's suffocating defense which held the San Francisco running back to 51 yards on 15 carries and also stopped him in his tracks for a safety in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Cardinals backup running back Chris Johnson had himself a vintage performance while filling in for the injured Andre Ellington, rushing for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns to stymie San Francisco's run defense for a second consecutive outing. Speaking of vintage performances, Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald looked a lot like his old self for the second week in a row as he torched the Niners secondary from the slot position for 9 receptions, 134 yards and a pair of touchdown grabs after putting up three scores against Chicago just a week ago. With the loss, San Francisco falls to 1-2, while Arizona improves their undefeated mark to 3-0 while remaining atop the NFC Western division standings and one of only seven unbeaten teams in the league.

Week 4 Preview - Getting back into the win column will be no easy task for Jim Tomsula's 49ers in Week 4 as they play host to Aaron Rodgers and the (3-0) Green Bay Packers who so far this season look like the team to beat in the NFC. Coached by former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy, the Packers have had limited success against SF over the past few years as Colin Kaepernick looks to improve his unbeaten mark to 4-0 against Green Bay, with two of those wins coming during the playoffs. Kaepernick and company are hoping a return to their home field of Levi's Stadium coupled with a meeting with a familiar foe will be the perfect ingredients to getting them back on track as they seek their first win since Week 1. San Francisco's offensive-line will have their hands full on Sunday as they face a Packers defense that is coming off a 7 sack performance on Monday night vs Kansas City and former 49ers QB Alex Smith.


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