49ers Rally late but Fall short in Arizona

Week 10 - In Glendale, Arizona to face the (3-4-1) Cardinals, Chip Kelly's 49ers (1-7) were hoping to build off a nice game offensively against the Saints in Week 9 and escape the desert with their first win since Week 1. However, the third time would be a charm for Cards kicker Chandler Catanzaro who fell short on two other tries to kick a game-winning field goal this season, but came through when needed on Sunday vs the 49ers. After having the daylights beaten out of them last year in Arizona by a final score of 47-7, San Francisco kept things much closer this time around, but were unable to leave the desert with a victory as they fell short by a last second field goal as time expired. Coming off back-to-back hard fought games that resulted in a tie and a loss, the Cardinals who were returning from a BYE, got back on track in the win column with a close win over San Francisco that didn't come easy.

After falling into an early hole which saw Arizona take a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdowns both thru the air and on the ground by running back David Johnson, the 49ers were able to rebound late following a shaky start as QB Colin Kaepernick and company failed to get a single first down in each of their first three offensive possessions. But a 17-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jeremy Kerley in the far right corner of the end zone would put the Niners on the board in the second quarter. It would be sweet redemption for Kerley who fumbled a punt return on the possession prior which set up Johnson's second touchdown. Catanzaro and 49ers kicker Phil Dawson would then exchange field goals to make it a 20-10 game at the half. Fairing much better on defense in the second half, San Francisco was able to force three Carson Palmer turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble. From there the 49ers would cash in on two of those turnovers as an Eli Harold sack and forced fumble resulted in the second of Phil Dawson's long field goals on the afternoon and Gerald Hodges' interception led to a game-tying touchdown ran in by Kaepernick from 4-yards out.

With the game tied at 20-20 and Arizona taking over at their own 15 yard line with just under two minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the Cardinals would need Carson Palmer and company to come alive for the first time since the first half as the 49ers defense had kept Arizona off the board in the second half. But a sprawling catch by Michael Floyd  for a 26-yard gain and a 14-yard reception by Larry Fitzgerald who each eclipsed the 100-yard mark and combined for 233-yards receiving, would help the Cardinals get into field goal range where Catanzaro split the uprights from 34-yards out to kick Arizona to a 23-20 victory as time expired. Kaepernick would log another solid performance and was able to rebound from arguably the worst game of his career when the 49ers last visited Arizona a year ago, but it wouldn't be enough. Finishing with 210 yards passing and two total touchdowns, Kaepernick tied Arizona's David Johnson for a game-high 55 yards rushing as Niner running backs Carlos Hyde and DuJuan Harris were virtually shutout and combined for 28-yards on the ground. As for Carson Palmer, the Cardinals QB would total 376 yards through the air and added a 16-yard rush in the second quarter, the longest rush of his 14-year career, out-running both 49er running backs.

After torching the 49ers defense for 157-yards in their Thursday Night meeting just over a month ago, Cardinals running back David Johnson was held to a fraction of that on Sunday as the San Francisco defense held Johnson to only 55-yards on 19 carries and saw their NFL-record of allowing a 100-yard rusher finally come to an end at seven games. However, he would add another 46-yards receiving to account for 101 total yards, registering yet another stellar performance against SF. After seeing his production in the passing game diminish with Kaepernick taking the QB reigns over Blaine Gabbert in Week 6, receiver Jeremy Kerley finally found the end zone and got things going with Kaepernick as his quarterback as he hauled in a team-high 7 receptions for 71-yards. Hopefully, just hopefully the 49ers can use this game to build off of as Kaepernick continues to slowly shake off the cobwebs and the defense can string together consecutive games where they aren't dismantled by the run.

Week 10 - As if wins haven't already been tough to come by for the (1-8) 49ers this year, they'll now have to face the daunting task of playing Tom Brady and the (7-2) New England Patriots who will be making their first trip to Levi's Stadium. For what it's worth, the 49ers defense won't have to worry about Pro-Bowl tight-end Rob Gronkowski as he's been ruled out of Sunday's game with a perforated lung injury suffered in Sunday night's loss at home to the Seahawks. But we can all expect Brady and company to play with a chip on their shoulder when they hit the field again as they plan to avenge their heart-breaking loss to Seattle which ended on a goal-line stand as the Pats were unable to score from the 1-yard line. With a 49ers win at New England the last time these two teams met, all we can do is hope San Francisco comes out to play and makes it a competitive game, unless Colin Kaepernick is able to turn back the clock and throw for four touchdowns again like he did in that memorable win at Foxborough back in 2012.


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