The 49ers didn’t play a perfect game Sunday in Arizona, but they did plenty to walk out of the desert with a 45-29 win and an NFC West crown in hand.
For San Francisco though the playoff race has mostly been a formality and the division was only a question of how long one of Seattle or LA could hang in the hunt.
Now the 49ers have all eyes on the No. 1 seed in the NFC. To get there they needed to take care of business against the three-win Arizona Cardinals. They did just that, and we had some takeaways from their Week 15 victory:
NFC West champions again
The 49ers’ win over the Cardinals clinched them the NFC West for the second consecutive year. It also clinched them a top three seed since the fourth division winner in the top four will have a maximum of 10 wins. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw after the game though made it clear the club’s goal isn’t just to win a division. They’re still in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed.
Run defense struggles
Any team missing both of its starting defensive tackles is going to struggle against the run. The 49ers on Sunday were abysmal though and it wasn’t just because Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave were out. Arizona racked up a whopping 234 yards on just 30 carries. Every player with more than one attempt averaged at least 6.1 yards per carry. It was a disasterclass in tackling from the 49ers in all three levels. They’ll get steamrolled by the Ravens if they don’t clean that up.
Throwin' tuddies
Brock Purdy, playing in his home state, racked up four touchdown passes for the third time this season and for the second time in three games. He’s now up to 29 TD passes on the year which is only seven shy of the 49ers’ single-season franchise record. There were short throws and long ones Sunday, and a couple of Cardinals coverage busts made things even easier than they typically are for San Francisco’s QB. His best of the four though was a 19-yard back-shoulder throw to Deebo Samuel where Samuel snagged it right at the front pylon. If the ball was in any different spot the CB would have had a play. It was a perfect throw.
Rookies get some time
Hey shoutout to a couple of 49ers rookies! Cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. has contributed on special teams in three games, but he had yet to play on defense until he got inserted for the final few minutes Sunday. His fellow rookie Robert Beal Jr. also got some mop-up duty in what was his NFL debut.
Both Luter and Beal dealt with injuries to start the year and went on IR immediately after making the 53-man roster. It was cool seeing them get some burn on defense.
Injury scares
Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa were all slow to get up at various points Sunday and all left the game for varying lengths of time. McCaffrey dealt with a knee issue that required some additional taping from the medical staff. Purdy had a shoulder stinger he worked through, and Bosa hurt his foot when a Cardinals offensive lineman fell into his legs. All three players returned to the game and didn’t seem hampered by their ailments, but it’ll be something to keep an eye on during the week.
Points on points
The 49ers posted 45 points in their win, which marks their third 40-point game of the season. It was also their season high, eclipsing the 42 they hung on both the Eagles and Cowboys. Dropping 45 got San Francisco up over the 30 points-per-game threshold for the season, and they’re now averaging 30.3 – which would be their highest mark under Kyle Shanahan.
Defensive game changer
Charvarius Ward was questionable with a groin injury going into Sunday’s game. He wound up flipping the entire game on its ear in the first quarter when he snatched a Kyler Murray pass over the middle and returned it for a touchdown. Ward added a second interception later in the game, but his pick-six gave the 49ers a 14-7 lead and an early lead to work with. Arizona outside of that INT scored on four of its five first-half possessions, so it’s not out of the question that their second drive could’ve resulted in a go-ahead score. The 49ers were likely going to win regardless, but Ward’s house call in the first quarter put them in control early.
CMC does it all
It’s hard to say anything new about Christian McCaffrey. On Sunday he led the team in carries, rushing yards, catches and receiving yards. He also accounted for three of their five offensive touchdowns and notched his 15th career game with at least one rushing TD and one receiving TD, tying Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk for the most all-time. McCaffrey is really good every game, but then there are outings like Sunday where he shines in every conceivable way and his value is fully maximized on the field and on the stat sheet.
A rare FG try
Rookie kicker Jake Moody finally had some work to do! He knocked through a 43-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. That was his first attempt since Thanksgiving night in Seattle. It was also his first make between 40 and 49 yards since Week 1, and his first make of 40-plus yards since Week 7. While Moody has missed a couple kicks, he’s also attempted among the fewest FGs in the NFL this season. San Francisco has been good in the red zone and not in need of its kicker, but Moody could become one of their most important players come playoff time.
