Cardinals “fight back” and win over 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Arizona Cardinals spent the past week trying to make up for their tough loss to the Washington Commanders, and they looked whole again with a 24-23 comeback win over the Washington Commanders in the grueling heat on Sunday at Levi's Stadium fit NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers.

The Cardinals needed a 35-yard field goal from kicker Chad Ryland, signed Wednesday while Matt Prater was dealing with knee soreness, with 1:37 left in the game to win the decisive points. It was the finishing touch to an emotional and focused week that saw the Cardinals finish 2-3 but 2-0 in the division.

“This league is really tough and I was frustrated with the way we played in the first half,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. “I felt like we moved the ball well and got the interception to get the blocked field goal. I feel like the result didn’t reflect how well we moved the ball and how we played.”

“When I said, 'This league is tough,' the margin for error was very small and I feel like we're not necessarily giving up the game, but we just don't have the chances that we had when we got there used.” Getting the ball into the end zone was frustrating. But for us to bounce back, bounce back and win that game on the road was huge.

The Cardinals made a statement on their first offensive possession when Murray broke off a 50-yard touchdown run on the second play. When Murray reached the 44-yard line, he pointed, knowing there was nothing but green grass between him and the end zone.

“As soon as (tight end Elijah Higgins) got the block and I fended off those two guys, I was gone,” Murray said. “It doesn’t happen often in the NFL, but it was good to finally be able to put together a long run. It was fun.”

From then on, the Cardinals' scoring stagnated. Running back James Conner had just 9 yards on six carries at halftime before finishing with 86. The passing game found its rhythm, but not the end zone. Arizona scored just six more points — two field goals by Ryland — until the start of the fourth quarter.

At that point, Arizona marched 73 yards in 6:27 and ended the drive with a touchdown pass from Murray to Higgins that brought the Cardinals within 23-21.

Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't play much of a role until the end of the fourth when he scored a game-winning first down. To that point, he had just one reception for 22 yards on six scores, the last coming at 14:17 of the third quarter. Then, with 2:49 left in the game, on fourth-and-5 after the Cardinals' 40 minutes, Murray went back to Harrison for a play that coach Jonathan Gannon called a “must-have.”

If they missed, Arizona would have given the ball back to San Francisco to run out the clock. But with pressure in his face, Murray hit Harrison on the left side of the field for a 14-yard gain to put Arizona into San Francisco territory. Harrison finished the game with two catches for 36 yards.

“We’ll be better again,” Murray said. “He's young. This is our fifth game together; we will do it. I'm not worried about it at all, but it just shows the confidence and trust. Fourth down, who do I go to? One-on-one against Marv, I trust Marv to win and I trust all the guys to win, but that was huge, I think, for his confidence and for us keeping the chains going. “

Murray gained 13 yards on the next play and Conner had 10 yards on the next play. At the two-minute warning, Arizona had the ball at the Niners' 23 line. Four plays later, Ryland hit a 35-yard field goal to give Arizona the lead.

“They went crazy in the locker room (for Ryland),” Gannon said after the game. “…half the guys don't even know him.”

With 92 seconds left, San Francisco got the ball back at their own 27. Murray, standing on the sideline, couldn't bear to watch.

“I hated it. I hated it,” Murray said. “Yeah, I honestly hated it. I didn't want to give them the ball back. I didn't do that. I was hoping we could convert and finish the game on our terms. That didn’t happen.”

“It comes down to trusting the guys. Trusting that they can perform and play complementary football. They supported us the whole game.”

In fact, they did. Although San Francisco gave up 384 yards, blocked a field goal in the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown to go up 20-10, and 49ers linebacker Nick Bosa intercepted Murray with a screen pass on the ensuing drive, the San Francisco defense pulled it off Cardinals I'm not giving in. It kept San Francisco at the 10-yard line or closer four times, allowed three field goals and recovered a fumble instead of giving up possibly four touchdowns.

It's a sign of resilience, Gannon said.

“But we knew they were going to postpone it,” he said. “That’s a good offense, man. They were top of the league and being able to keep points there was huge.”

“I’m proud of the way they fought, man. I really am.”

The forced fumble and subsequent recovery was one of three turnovers by the defense. Another score came on the 49ers' final drive and sealed the game. On first-and-10 at the San Francisco 42, safety Jalen Thompson blitzed untouched and hit Niners quarterback Brock Purdy as he was throwing, causing the ball to bounce in the air. Linebacker Kyzir White came through, sparking a second half in which Arizona shut out the 49ers and catapulted into second place in the NFC West while helping complete last week's performance.

“They were on fire,” Gannon said. “They know it’s a good football team. And last week we didn't perform well, and they kind of took that. I don't want to talk about it, but at the beginning of this week we put the arrow in our foreheads and focused all of our energy and focus on San Fran.

“We had a really good week of training. Our captains have improved. The leadership I felt this week was tremendous. All four of these guys. (Wide Receiver Greg) Dortch was instrumental this week with energy and focus. That's why it was him.” He's a game captain.

“But we had a lot of good people in our locker room and the reaction was right,” he said. “Now we have to learn from this and move on to the next game because we’re going to play a really good football team in Green Bay.”