The 49ers collapsed in the sweltering heat of Levi’s Stadium and lost Sunday to the Cardinals, 24-23.
They lost kicker Jake Moody to an ankle injury in the second quarter, which impacted their strategy for the rest of the game, but they also turned the ball over inside their own line 20 yards (Brock Purdy interception in the third quarter) and that of Arizona (Jordan Mason’s fourth). -quarter escape).
Purdy finished 19 of 35 for 244 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, including the game-sealing one that flew to Kyzir White when Purdy was hit as he threw his final pass.
Mason led the 49ers with 89 yards on 14 carries, the last being one he fumbled while fighting for extra yards at the Cardinals’ 9-yard line, where reserve linebacker XX hit him.
Brandon Aiyuk was San Francisco’s leading receiver with 147 yards on eight catches.
Kyler Murray was 19 of 30 for the Cardinals for 195 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for a 50-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Bruiser James Connor led Arizona with 86 yards on 19 carries, plus a key two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say after the loss:
Kyle Shanahan
On refocusing for Thursday’s match:
That’s all we talked about in there. We would love to sit here and get pissed off. We’d love to do something about it, but there’s nothing you can do about these games once they’re over.
On Brandon Aiyuk’s game:
Did a really good job beating man coverage, made some good plays in the zone and had a good run after the catch.
On Mason’s fumble:
When you’re fighting for extra yards, you’ve got to be smart with that ball and it looked like he just got a little careless with it and they took him out.
To find a replacement kicker:
They’re almost independent contractors, so we’ll recruit them as quickly as possible and find the best fit possible. I’m sure it will be for a few weeks, whatever. I’m not sure, but I know they told me ankle high and it’s never short.
Brock Purdy
On shifting focus to Seattle over a short week:
We have to do it quickly. We had a game Thursday night, a great Seahawks team on the road. So a big challenge to take on. If we sit back and dwell, then I think things are obviously not going to go the way we want them to and so we need to move on quickly.
On the offensive:
When the defense is shut down, we can’t just turn the ball over.
On red zone issues:
Everything is pretty tight. It’s close and we have to be aggressive. It starts with me. I’m the guy with the ball, so you know, I’m aggressive with certain guys and certain matchups and giving guys chances. I just have to be hard on myself with this. Obviously you have to be smart and protect the ball, but when we have a good game and a good look, we have to tear it up.
On Aiyuk:
He was just doing his thing. He wasn’t trying to do anything out of the ordinary. We just had some good plays and matchups scheduled for him and I thought he did a great job getting in and out of cuts and obviously catching the ball, making plays.
On whether McCaffrey’s disappearance is part of the red zone’s woes:
You can do so much with Christian out of the backfield, lining him up as a receiver and stuff like that. Defenses must account for this and play a role. So, I mean, it’s a little different. But regardless, man, I think we have the players and the talent to make it happen.
On Mason’s fumble:
We all supported him, man. Obviously he ran very, very hard. He’s doing a really good job, and that’s the way football is, man. It might take just one piece.
On the atmosphere in the locker room:
The standard here, man, is excellence. And what we’ve proven over the last few years of what we can play is what we’re trying to get to. But man, every year is different with just the team, the chemistry and bringing the guys together. You have new keys, some guys are leaving, so I think throughout all of this, we’re early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team. We’re getting there, and all that’s left is a few games, a few players to gel and stick together. But I’m confident we’ll find it. We just have to get into the rhythm and play complementary team football.
On what he can do best to avoid interceptions:
I just found out if I have pressure and what my response to it can be. I was locked in on BA and trying to hit him at the end, so I think I can do better in that area. And then the first one, try to get the ball to George faster instead of tapping it twice. There are little things like that. It’s a game of thumbs for a reason. There’s not much room for error.
Fred Warner
On loss:
We won the game and we gave it away, but you have to kind of erase it and move on to the next one.
On the question of whether he felt the game was slipping away from him:
No, my mindset is always the next play, the best play. Defensively, we learned how to finish games. We’re not there yet, so that’s the most frustrating part.
On past defense successes:
It’s a completely new group. It’s a new year, it’s a new band. You take the experiences you have had in the past and apply them to the present. …It’s going to take even more effort, more attention to detail, more of everything at this point.
On the impact of injuries:
I don’t really worry about injuries. If you fit this thing, you better be ready to go. Point blank, period.
Nick Bosa
On the difference between winning and losing:
It’s not about how good your players are, how explosive your offense is, or how good your defense is. If you turn the ball over and don’t play defense in crucial moments, you’re going to lose in the NFL. I haven’t lost any confidence in the team. It’s early. It’s a long year. We have been through worse and I think we will respond well.
Regarding speed of execution:
I think we need to turn the page on this point. It’s pretty clear what happened and why we lost, so I think it’s kind of a blessing in disguise that we were playing on Thursday.
On the momentum of Moody’s loss:
Not having your kicker is tough and I hope he’s okay, but Mitch did a good job on his one kick. But it really shouldn’t come down to that in the end.
On whether the heat wore players out late:
I wouldn’t say it affects people on long commutes. Conner is a very big, good fullback and he makes people miss. I think I had a few hiccups there too. I just have to get them down.
On adapting to opposing offenses:
The preparation we’ve had has been great for the teams, but the teams play us differently and do things differently, and we need to adjust a little better.
George Kittle
On loss:
Not scoring points in the second half is really tough on offense, especially when you’re expected to be significantly better than that. As an offense, we want to take control of this game and we had every opportunity to blow it up. We didn’t do it.
On the sudden change in Moody’s loss:
Losing your kicker is huge, especially when you have a guy who is good for 57 yards. … But I think our special teams and our defense gave us every chance to win. And I mean, as an offensive player who’s been here eight years, I feel like that one is mostly on us more than anything else. We have to finish practices – not turn the ball over, to make it easier for ourselves, which we didn’t do.
As for whether there is any doubt about the games ending:
There is none of that. I would say we just have to go out and prove we can do it.
On whether the team could come out of halftime with too much confidence:
I wouldn’t say overconfidence. I know we didn’t score any points in the second half. I don’t know what our first drive was but I feel like we moved the ball well all day. But when you end up with turnovers, it’s just turnovers on downs, interceptions, fumbles, whatever it is, it’s just hard to win football games when you play like that.
Originally published:
