Week 11 - After dropping their first game against a division opponent this season a week earlier after having gone 3-0 to start, the (6-4) San Francisco 49ers would get a chance to bounce back and add another division win to their resume while paying a visit to the desert to take on the (3-6) Arizona Cardinals. After being swept by Arizona a season ago, a win on Sunday would allow the Niners to return the favor and complete a season sweep over the Cardinals. Sunday's game would also be a homecoming for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy who would make his return to the starting lineup after having missed the last six games and eight out of ten overall. Purdy, the former 2017 Arizona Cardinals Highschool Football Player of the Year, wouldn't be the only Arizona native making his way back from injury for the 49ers as receiver Ricky Pearsall who was born in nearby Phoenix, also made his return to the football field for the first time since Week 4 after dealing with a lingering knee injury.
Purdy and company would see their team jump out to an early 7-0 advantage without them having to throw a single pass after the game's opening-kickoff was nearly taken to the house on an impressive 98-yard return from Skyy Moore. The team's longest kickoff return since Ted Ginn's 102-yarder on September 11, 2011, would setup running back Christian McCaffrey who would do the rest with a walk-in touchdown from a yard out. Following an incompletion on Purdy's first pass attempt of the afternoon, he would complete consecutive passes to receivers Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson for 25 and 13 yards, respectively, before connecting on a 30-yard strike down the sideline to his favorite target in tight-end George Kittle. Adding to their early lead, the 49ers would jump ahead 13-0 after kicker Eddy Pineiro had his extra-point attempt blocked. Facing an early multi-score deficit, the Cardinals would answer with a touchdown of their own in what would be one of the lone highlights for Arizona in the first half. Behind quarterback Jacoby Brissett who would make his fifth start of the season in place of the injured Kyler Murray, the Cards would get on the scoreboard with a 6-yard score from running back Bam Knight. Trailing 13-7, it would be the closest the Cardinals would get all afternoon as San Francisco led from wire-to-wire.
Arizona had a chance to take the lead late in the first quarter after getting the ball back following a 49ers three-and-out punt, but instead were held to a field goal try that was missed from 58-yards out by
Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland. Adding to their lead, the 49ers would get another touchdown from McCaffrey on a 9-yard reception. After exchanging field goals, the San Francisco defense would come up with only their second interception of the season when Malik Mustapha came down with an errant pass from Brissett in the final minute of the first half which led to another field goal from Pineiro. With San Francisco leading 25-10 at the half, the Cardinals nearly opened the second half with an ideal start following a 60-yard touchdown run on 4th and 1, but a penalty would nullify the big play and resulted in an Arizona punt. Completing a 10-point swing, the 49ers would add another field goal to pad their lead. With the Cardinals beginning to march, San Francisco's Deommodore Lenoir who was a late add to the Niners' injury report with a calf ailment and was a game time decision by coach Kyle Shanahan, came up with an interception to put a halt to Arizona's marching drive and nearly returned it to the house for a pick-six. A few plays later, Purdy and Kittle would connect for their second time of the afternoon as Kittle recorded his 50th career touchdown reception.
Arizona's ensuing possession would also end in a turnover when 49ers rookie cornerback Upton Stout made a play near the goal line to strip Cardinals tight-end Elijah Higgins for a fumble. While the 49ers were unable to do anything with the football pinned back near their own end zone, they at least held the Cardinals from inching closer on the scoreboard. And while Arizona did manage to score two late garbage time touchdowns thru the air, the 49ers added a third and final touchdown from McCaffrey to give them 41-points, their highest point total of the season and the eventual 41-22 victory. While Arizona finished the game with 488 total yards of offense compared to San Francisco's 281, they also committed 17 penalties, the most in franchise history. In comparison, the 49ers committed only 1 penalty on Sunday. Despite trailing in total yards, one area the Niners did win in was the turnover battle -- 3-0. Sunday's game would also mark the first time since Week 1 that Purdy, McCaffrey, Kittle and Pearsall were all healthy and on the field together at the same time this season.
Finishing with 121 all-scrimmage yards and a touchdown hat-trick for the 6th time in his career, tied for the third most among active players, McCaffrey helped his team log a successful afternoon on offense by scoring on 8 of their 11 possessions. With 249 scrimmage touches thru his team's first 10 games of a season, McCaffrey has the most by any player since 2019 when he tallied 258. Purdy showed no signs of rust after the long layoff and finished with an even 200 yards passing on 19-of-26 pass attempts, including a pair of touchdowns. As for his counterpart Jacoby Brissett, the Cardinals QB completed an NFL record 47 passes on 57 attempts, surpassing the previous mark of 45 held by Drew Bledsoe (1994) and Jared Goff (2019). Brissett also threw for 452 yards, the most by a Cardinal since Kurt Warner in 2008 and the 7th most passing yards in a single game in Cardinals franchise history to go along with 2 TD's and 2 interceptions.
Week 12: Returning home to Levi's Stadium for a brief 1-game stay before hitting the road again, the (7-4) 49ers will welcome in the upstart (6-5) Carolina Panthers for a bout on Monday Night Football. Two of the bigger surprises in all of football, both the 49ers and Panthers have already surpassed their win totals from a season ago when they finished 6-11 and 5-12, respectively. With an upset win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 9 under their belt, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers know they cannot overlook this Panthers team that is also coming off a 30-27 win on the road against the division rival Atlanta Falcons in which quarterback Bryce Young threw for a career-high 448 yards passing, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. With Jacoby Brissett putting up similar numbers against the Niners for Arizona, the San Francisco defense will have to turn up the heat to prevent a repeat performance as Young looks to build on his last outing. With an extra day of rest, the 49ers will have to call on a different kicker as Eddy Pineiro who has been solid since signing with San Francisco during Week 2, suffered a hamstring strain in the second half against the Cardinals. Listed as week-to-week, the 49ers will hold tryouts in hopes of finding a reliable replacement in time for Monday's game.
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