Conner, McCoy too much to handle for 49ers

Week 9 - The San Francisco 49ers' (3-4) nightmarish season continued on Sunday when hosting an Arizona Cardinals (7-1) team that was without a number of key starters on offense. Among those who were inactive on Sunday was quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins, two of the very best in the league at their respective positions. Instead, it would be no Murray no problem for Arizona as the 49ers were unable to take advantage of a makeshift Cardinals offense and had their hands full with Arizona's backup quarterback and a former player of their own in veteran QB Colt McCoy. Thinking they'd have an easy win on Sunday with Murray and Hopkins out, that couldn't be any further from the truth for San Francisco as missed tackles, costly turnovers and bogus penalties all reared their ugly heads once the game got underway. 

Welcoming the return of their All-Pro tight-end George Kittle who had missed the last three games, the 49er offense showed signs of life right out the gates on each of their first two offensive possessions with Kittle at the forefront as he had made receptions of 19 and 18 yards before fumbling on the first play of San Francisco's second drive. While it would be the Niners' first mistake of the game, it certainly wouldn't be their last as Arizona capitalized with a touchdown. After running back Chase Edmonds was hurt on Arizona's first play from scrimmage following just a 3-yard gain, the window of opportunity swung open for James Conner who took the torch and ran with it on Sunday, scoring his first of three touchdowns on the afternoon to give the Cards an early 7-0 lead. With Murray missing the first start of his career, the game would soon turn into the Conner and McCoy show for Arizona's offense as both guys stepped up huge when called upon. Facing a 3rd and 18 from their own 12 yard line, McCoy connected with Conner on a short pass that turned into a 21-yard gain and a first down. The frustration on third and long wouldn't stop there for the San Francisco defense, as Arizona faced a 3rd and 9 near midfield that ended in a 7-yard sack by Arik Armstead. Unfortunately, just when it appeared the Cardinals were forced to punt, Armstead would be called for a facemask penalty that instead gave Arizona an automatic first down. They would turn that costly penalty into another touchdown as Conner ran up the middle from a yard out. 

Trailing 14-0, the 49ers appeared to be on their way to finally scoring as they made their way inside the red zone with a leaping grab from second-year receiver Brandon Aiyuk for 22-yards, but the former Arizona State alum was striped of the ball on his way down, resulting in another gut-wrenching fumble. McCoy would catch the 49ers secondary snoozing just two plays later as he lobbed up a pass that Christian Kirk came down with 50-yards downfield. Arizona would only end up walking away with a field goal this time around, but still increased their lead to 17-0. On that drive, a pair of bizarre penalties were called on both Josh Norman of the Niners for taunting and Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury for unsportsmanlike conduct, as the two exchanged words near the Arizona sideline, turning a would-be 4th and 20 into an automatic 1st and 24. Unlike other penalties in the game, thankfully, this one wouldn't come back to haunt San Francisco, but Norman would be benched for the rest of the game. With four minutes to go before the half and the 49ers in desperate need of a touchdown, George Kittle would make up for his first career fumble in 58 games by hauling in a 6-yard touchdown grab to put his team on the board just before the half. It would be Kittle's first touchdown reception of the season and his first in his last nine games, ending the longest drought of his career since his rookie season in 2017. 

Trailing 17-7 at the half, the 49ers were hoping their touchdown just before halftime would swing the momentum in their favor, but again they returned to the field without an answer for either McCoy or Conner on defense. With 145 yards passing by halftime for Colt McCoy, his most in a first half since 2011, the all-time great with the Texas Longhorns came out of the locker room poised to continue pouring it on and that they did. Needing only four plays to march 72-yards, McCoy dumped a short pass to Conner that he took 45-yards to pay dirt. Following a 49ers three and out, the Cardinals again found the end zone as a 35-yard run by Conner helped setup a bruising 21-yard run by Arizona's third-string running back Eno Benjamin who steamrolled former Cardinal Dre Kirkpatrick on his way to his first career touchdown. Down 31-7, the 49ers again found themselves in desperate need of a score and had those wishes granted after a pair of big gains on consecutive plays by Aiyuk and Kittle. Logging his best game of the season, Aiyuk (6 catches, 89 yards) would be awarded with his second touchdown grab of the season as 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo found him in the end zone for the 11-yard score. 

Making it a 31-17 game at the start of the fourth quarter, the 49er defense forced Arizona to punt to give the San Francisco offense a chance to pull within single-digits, but Garoppolo would have his pass intended for Deebo Samuel picked off for the game-sealing turnover. In his first game back, George Kittle would haul in a game-high 101 yards receiving and a touchdown on six receptions. Jimmy Garoppolo would throw for 326 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception on 28 of 40 pass attempts in the loss, meanwhile, Colt McCoy completed 22 of 26 passes for 249 yards and touchdown as Arizona racked up 437 yards of total offense. Much of that offense would go through running back James Conner who rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and hauled in another 77 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions for the first three-touchdown performance of his career. Arizona's Chandler Jones recorded a sack late in the second quarter to become the Cardinals' all-time sacks leader with his 67th sack in an Arizona uniform. With the win, Arizona improved to 8-1 for only the second time since 1950. 

Week 10 Preview: Still in search of their first home win of the season, the San Francisco 49ers (3-5) will welcome in the Los Angeles Rams (7-2) for a division rival showdown on Monday Night Football. Coming off an upset loss at home on Sunday Night Football to the Tennessee Titans who were without their star running back in Derrick Henry, the Rams will look to get back in the win column as they 've fallen a game behind Arizona for first place in the NFC West. As for San Francisco who has won the last four meetings against the Rams, but has yet to win a home game this season (0-4), the 49ers will be in full blown panic mode if they fall to 3-6 on the year. The 49ers are already in a sticky situation as they've fallen to last place in the division and have a rookie quarterback waiting in the wings and in need of as many reps under center as he can get, making for an unenviable decision by coach Kyle Shanahan. Fans have already grown unhappy given the circumstances, and things continue to get worse on the injury front as both defensive-tackle Javon Kinlaw (knee) and offensive-tackle Mike McGlinchey (torn quadriceps) will be lost for the year after sustaining season-ending injuries. 

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