San Francisco 49ers 20, Arizona Cardinals 16
The Cardinals had some issues in this game and it showed on the field. Anquan Boldin was limping around and Steve Breaston did not play so Kurt Warner didn’t have all the bullets in his gun. Warner completed 26 of 44 passes for 288 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions. Beanie Wells led the Cards with 29 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.1 ypc). Tim Hightower only rushed for 15 yards on 8 carries (1.9 ypc) but he also caught 12 passes for 121 yards (10.1 avg). Larry Fitzgerald had a decent game with six catches for 71 yards (11.8 avg) and a TD. Jerheme Urban stepped in for the injured WRs and he caught 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg). The Cardinals finished up this game with 299 total yards on offense (40 rushing, 259 passing).
The defense was outstanding for the Cardinals in this game as they held the 49ers to only 21 yards rushing on 25 carries (0.8 ypc). The 49ers did throw for 182 yards including a game winning pass from Shaun Hill to Frank Gore.
The Cardinals defense was outstanding the whole game, until that final drive from the 49ers. They held RB Frank Gore to 48 total yards (30 yards rushing), only the third time in Gore’s career that he has been held under 50 total yards. I don’t know if the Cardinals’ defense ran out of gas on or what, as that 4th quarter drive went 80 yards (longest drive of the game) and the 49ers had four 3rd down conversions. Most of the plays on that drive were short passes and it had the Cardinals defense running all over the place. Another issue for concern is the Cardinals offensive line and their lack of protection for Warner, as he was sacked 3 times and forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions.