Week 9 - Returning home to Levi's Stadium for the first leg of a three game homestand, the 49ers would renew rivalries with division foe (3-4) Arizona. Looking to both take advantage of the absence of Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer who's been placed on injured reserve with a broken arm and avenge a 3-point overtime loss suffered the last time these two teams met in Week 4, the San Francisco defense would have their hands full with running back Adrian Peterson who the 49ers have had a good history against in the 4 games they've faced him. But seeing Peterson for the first time in a Cardinals uniform, however, the former league MVP who tallied 27 carries in four games with the Saints before being traded to Arizona, would record a career-high 37 carries for 159 yards on Sunday. And while the San Francisco defense was able to keep Peterson out of the end zone once again, leaving him searching for his first career touchdown versus the Niners, they weren't able to make that claim against the Cardinals' passing attack.
Facing their third opponent coming off a BYE in four weeks, it would be a frustrating day all around for San Francisco as the offense generated only a single touchdown for the third consecutive game. Meanwhile, the defense would fail to log a single sack for the fourth time this season as Cardinals backup QB Drew Stanton threw for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the afternoon while completing half of his passes (15 for 30) and under minimum pressure from San Francisco's defense. Stanton and the Arizona offense would come out of the gates firing as the former Michigan State product connected on a 52-yard pass to receiver John Brown on the first play from scrimmage. Though it would be the only reception on the day for Brown, it would appear to be enough to at least set up a field goal try for the 42 year old Phil Dawson who had spent the last four seasons as a reliable kicker with the 49ers before signing with Arizona in the offseason. But having struggled mightily thus far in a Cardinals uniform despite now playing his home games indoors, Dawson who missed six field goals combined over the last two seasons with San Francisco, would miss his sixth field goal already this season as the game remained scoreless.
Like they've done so often this season, self-inflicted miscues would harm the 49ers and benefit the opposition once again. A fumbled carry near midfield by fullback Kyle Juszczyk on San Francisco's first possession of the game would help setup the Arizona offense who would strike first just three plays later on a touchdown pass to receiver Jaron Brown. Stanton would later connect with tight-end Jermaine Gresham for a second Arizona touchdown and nearly threw for a third before being picked off in the end zone by linebacker Eric Reid who had made the transition from the safety position just a week ago. Trailing 14-3 entering the second half, San Francisco's one and only trip to the end zone on Sunday would come on a 14-play drive that rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard capitalized with a 1-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 14-10 ballgame. Inspired by Stanton's 52-yard pass on the first play of the game, Beathard would show off his own arm strength with a 55-yard bomb to Marquise Goodwin as the speedy receiver used his Olympic speed to blow by both Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu for the big gain. But the highlights and lowlights for San Francisco would be few and far between as Beathard received little support from his offensive-line and was constantly under pressure all afternoon long.
After failing to pick up a first down on 4th and 3 near midfield, the 49ers would get another chance after forcing a fumble on Adrian Peterson the very next play. But the 9-yard line would be as far as the offense would get as Beathard threw an absolute clunker off his own man's helmet as the pass intended for Garrett Celek failed to make it over the head of his 6' 8" guard Trent Brown, allowing Arizona's Karlos Dansby to come up with the easy interception, sealing the 20-10 win. With his family in attendance watching from the stands, the boneheaded turnover would be the cherry on top of a miserable day for Beathard who received a beating under center to the tune of 5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits. Perhaps none harder than the lick he took from former 49er Antoine Bethea who was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a hit he made while Beathard was sliding. The hit would lead to a scuffle that resulted in three players being ejected including Niners running back Carlos Hyde, but not before he hauled in 9 receptions for 84-yards, both career-highs. The shellacking endured by Beathard who threw for 294 yards in the loss, would draw the attention of Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians who described the rookie QB as, "tough as nails."
Following their first 0-8 start in franchise history a week ago, the 49ers have now dropped to 0-9 on the season as Arizona completed their third straight season sweep of their division rivals. The game wouldn't be the only thing the 49ers would lose as strong-safety Jaquiski Tartt was injured during the 2nd quarter and lost for the season after suffering a fractured arm, the same injury free-safety Jimmie Ward would suffer a week ago. San Francisco has had terrible luck in the injury department this year season and now has an NFL-leading 16 players on Injured Reserve. However, there would be some good news on Sunday as rookie linebacker Reuben Foster who has had his fair share of injuries this season not only completed the first full game of his career, but racked up a game-high 14 tackles in doing so, 13 solo and 1 assisted.
Week 10 Preview - Before heading into their Week 11 BYE, San Francisco will play host to Eli Manning and the struggling (1-7) New York Giants. Coming off a 51-17 shellacking at home to the L.A. Rams, the Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments of 2017 and their struggles are something nobody saw coming as New York entered the season expected to cause fits for the Cowboys and at least pose a threat in the NFC East. Instead, the Giants have gotten off to a sluggish start that has not only begged the question of whether or not head coach Ben McAdoo isn't the man for the job, but also if it's time to move on from longtime quarterback Eli Manning. Sure they're without their star receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. who was lost for the season after fracturing his ankle, but the 2017 Giants have been a far cry from their 2016 self after making it to the playoffs as a Wild Card team via a 11-5 record just a season ago. Averaging just 16.1 points per game (29th in the league) compared to San Francisco's 15.9 (30th), the Giants trail the 49ers in all three of the following categories: total yards per game, passing yards per game, and rushing yards per game. At this point, their meeting with the Giants this week appears to be their best chance at recording a win this season. And what better way for head coach Kyle Shanahan to head into the BYE week with than after a win.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
Week 5 - In the two games the 49ers played against division rival Arizona last season, San Francisco found little success against the Cardinals defense and couldn't find an answer for QB Carson Palmer as Arizona claimed the division crown. But after losing only three games all of last year, Arizona has already reached that mark through the first four weeks having struggled on both sides of the ball to the tune of a 1-3 start. Any thought of digging themselves out of an early hole and repeating as division champs or even contending for a Wild Card spot would be much more realistic if Bruce Arians' Cardinals could avoid the dreaded 1-4 start, making Thursday's game against the 49ers virtually a must-win. And with Palmer out with a concussion, the 49ers would have a golden opportunity against their division foe fall right into their lap facing backup Drew Stanton. However, costly mistakes in both the turnover and penalty department would doom any chance of Chip Kelly and company claiming their second win of the season.
Entering the game as the only team in the league that hasn't scored during the 1st quarter this season, Arizona would find themselves in that same position as both teams failed to muster any points in the opening period. But once the scoring began in the 2nd quarter, it was the 49ers who would strike first as QB Blaine Gabbert went 4 for 4 thru the air, with all four passes to wide-receiver Jeremy Kerley who has become Gabbert's go-to target this season. The fourth pass of the drive would be a 9-yard touchdown which gave Kerley two on the season, matching his total all of last year while with the Jets. Down by a touchdown, the Cardinals would score on the first of three turnovers by the 49ers to tie things up at 7 apiece as Gabbert had a pass deflected which fell into the hands of defensive-end Calais Campbell. Arizona would capitalize just one play later on a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Making his first start in over two years, Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton was held in check nearly all game long, passing for only 124 yards on the night, but two touchdown passes to Fitzgerald who has made a career out of torturing the 49ers, having scored 14 touchdowns against them throughout his career entering the game, would be plenty to help Stanton in an otherwise mediocre performance.
Fitzgerald would see that total reach 16 touchdowns scored against the 49ers by days end, the most ever touchdowns scored by one player against San Francisco thru the air. With the game tied at 7-all at the half, the 49ers would then gift wrap another opportunity for their opponent as return man Chris Davis gave Arizona the ball on the doorstep of the end zone to open the second half as he was stripped of the ball on the kickoff. After appearing to have held Arizona to a field goal, the Niners would shoot themselves in the foot even more on a running into the kicker penalty which gave the Cardinals a second chance to reach the end zone which they would do on the very next play on a rushing touchdown. Expected to see a heavy diet of hand offs to Cardinals running back David Johnson, the second-year back didn't disappoint, putting together one of the best games of his career. It would be a two man show for much of the game for Arizona as Fitzgerald and Johnson accounted for most of the offense, tallying a combined 266 of AZ's 288 total net yards and all four touchdowns. Before it was all said and done Johnson would finish with the best rushing performance of the NFL season so far with 157 yards and became the first player in Cardinals franchise history to record 100+ scrimmage yards in each of the team's first five games of the season.
49ers running back Carlos Hyde would also have himself a nice game statistically, combining for over 100 yards (78 rushing and 36 receiving) and finding the end zone for the sixth time in five weeks as his touchdown in the third quarter brought the 49ers within reach, trailing by a touchdown. But Gabbert's second interception of the night would dampen their chance of pulling off the victory as Arizona scored on a field goal, scoring 17 of their points off of San Francisco turnovers. As for Arizona themselves, Stanton and company managed to play a turnover-free game as the 49ers defense failed to force a takeaway for the second consecutive week. The only other scoring by the 49ers would come late in the fourth quarter as Gabbert took the ball into the end zone himself for a 1-yard rushing touchdown as he totaled 70 yards on the ground. Finishing with 162 yards passing, Gabbert would sling 102 of those yards to receiver Jeremy Kerley who became the 49ers' first 100-yard receiver in nearly an entire season (15 games). Unfortunately it wouldn't be enough as the Cardinals added a late safety to increase their lead and finish the 33-21 victory in Carson Palmer's absence.
Week 6 Preview: With a few extra days of rest, the 49ers will make the trip to the east coast as they head to Buffalo to take on the Rex Ryan led (3-2) Bills. And when they do, they'll be doing so with a different quarterback under center as 49ers coach Chip Kelly has made the decision to make a change with Colin Kaepernick taking over as the starter. In need of something to wake up the team which hasn't won since their season-opening shutout of the Rams, Kelly and co. is hoping Kaepernick who is finally healthy after undergoing a series of injuries during the offseason, can be the answer and breathe life back into the 49er offense. Unlike the 49ers, the Bills are currently riding a three game winning streak after dropping each of their first two. The last two times the 49ers and Bills faced one another, it was San Francisco who pulled out on top, outscoring Buffalo 55-6 in those games. The 49er Faithful would want nothing more than for that trend to continue as they hope to head into the Week 8 BYE week on a 2-game win streak.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
For the first time since the start of the Jim Harbaugh era in San Francisco, the 49ers are below .500. Their 1-2 record could easily be 3-0 if not for two key factors that have haunted the 49ers in each of their last two games -- penalties and the disappearance of the Niners offense that is still seeking its first score in the fourth quarter this season. For Colin Kaepernick and company, the story has been: play dominantly in the first two quarters, only to roll over and play dead in the second half where they've been outscored 52-3 through the first three weeks of the season. This is evident to the +43 point differential the Niners own in the first half of games where they've outscored opponents, 59-16.
After allowing a field goal on Arizona's game opening drive, Kaepernick led the 49er offense on consecutive 80-yard touchdown drives in each of their first two possessions by finding Michael Crabtree in the end zone for one and handing it off to rookie running back Carlos Hyde on the other. San Francisco took a 14-6 lead into the locker room at the half where they would appear to leave their offense and the ability to score like they've done so often this year. Even without one of his favorite targets in Pro-Bowl tight-end Vernon Davis, Colin Kaepernick managed to have a nice game throwing the ball, completing 29 of 37 pass attempts for 245 yards and a career-high 78.4 completion percentage, but it came at a cost. The 49ers QB ran the ball a total of 12 times, three times more than running backs Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde combined and as a result, abandoned a key component that the San Francisco offense thrives on and is when the 49ers are at their best. Just the latest not so brilliant decision by Niners offensive-coordinator Greg Roman. All-time 49ers rusher Frank Gore who saw only six carries for 10 yards on the afternoon, watched much of the game from the sidelines and was none to pleased about the team's pass-happy offense and chose not to talk to the media following Sunday's game.
And then there was the officiating which for the second straight week proved to be a thorn in the side of the 49ers who lead the league in penalties and were penalized another nine times for 107 yards. One penalty that proved to be costly among the countless other bogus calls called on defense, was one called against Niners receiver Anquan Boldin who was tacked for unnecessary roughness which knocked San Francisco out of the red zone. They eventually had to settle for a field goal attempt which was then blocked, preventing the Niners from scoring in the fourth quarter for the third time in as many games this season as Jim Harbaugh's team was outscored 17-0 in the second half. A number of other penalties were called on multiple clean hits on the quarterback that were called otherwise, giving Arizona good field position throughout much of the game. Filling in for the injured Carson Palmer, Cardinals backup QB Drew Stanton logged his second straight game without a turnover, throwing for 244 yards and a pair of TD's, both to rookie wide-out John Brown in the 23-14 win. For Arizona who enters Week 4 atop the NFC West at 3-0 and with a BYE week, the victory snaps a four-game losing streak to the Niners and marks just their second win vs San Francisco in 11 tries.
Week 4 Preview: Turning the page to next week, the 49ers return home to Levi's Stadium where they hope to win their first game in their new home. It won't come easy, however, as Jim Harbaugh's club welcomes Chip Kelly's 3-0 Philadelphia Eagles. Having been a shell of their first half selves in all three games this season, San Francisco can ill afford another performance in Week 4 as it just so happens that Philly is the best second half team in the league thus far, having outscored opponents by 50-points after halftime. Oh and just to throw it out there, referee Ed Hochuli who will be in charge of officiating next week's game will be leading an officiating crew that averages 19.5 penalties a game this year... One name the 49ers will have a close eye on entering the game will be their very own Vernon Davis who sat out of Week 3's loss with an injured left ankle. Without Davis in the lineup, the 49ers are 0-4 under coach Harbaugh.
Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
