In the final round, the Cardinals shocked the 49ers in their Week 5 game

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The scene captures all the emotions that have built up around this Arizona Cardinals season. Kyler Murray leaned back under an umbrella, strained his eyes, and exhaled. Two straight trips deep into the San Francisco area ended with no points. Nothing could stop the Cardinals.

“A bit irritated,” Murray admitted, “at the state of things.” So there he was, on that bench, the portrait of a team heading to 1-4 and all the bad that lay behind it.

Then the afternoon somehow changed. It changed gradually, then all at once, in four minutes and 34 seconds of glorious, season-saving redemption.

The Cardinals won the ball with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter and didn't give it up until they took the lead for good with an impressive 24-23 victory over the 49ers.

The drive began with a James Conner 9-yard run up the middle that proved to be telling. The Cardinals completed their first four plays of the drive. All four were productive, moving from the 9-yard line to the 35-yard line.

Trailing by two points, it was an unusual strategy, but Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing had a plan. They knew this was an opportunity not only to take charge, but to control time and push life out of San Francisco.

They were able to do this thanks to Conner's efforts in the previous quarter. After struggling at the start, he found his rhythm by halftime and turned a handful of dead runs into chunk plays. By the fourth quarter, the Arizona running game had worn down the 49ers' defense and helped Conner finish with 10 rushing yards over expectations, according to Next Gen Stats.

“It’s definitely nice to get into a rhythm out there and get lathered up,” Conner said. “And then you just get into a zone.”

On this drive, the Cardinals had a different problem. They wanted to lean heavily on isolation runs, but those require each lineman to beat his defender. And before the final touchdown, they lost right guard Will Hernandez to a knee injury.

However, Trystan Colon made impressive gains. On the first play of the drive, he fended off a defensive tackle, opening a hole for Conner. He didn't let up the rest of the way and played a key role in Conner's success.

But at some point the Cardinals had to pass. On the second and fifth of his 40 points, Murray rolled right out of the game. The Cardinals moved the pocket more effectively Sunday than they have in recent weeks, and here Murray had an open downfield from Michael Wilson after his receiver played a go route with a cornerback. However, he overthrew Wilson and when the pocket collapsed on third down, the Cardinals faced fourth and fifth downs.

With 2:49 remaining and three timeouts, Gannon later admitted he considered a punting attack before deciding to trust his offense. According to ESPN, the decision increased the Cardinals' win probability by 4.4%. It paid off.

Before the snap, the 49ers showed blitz, with six pass rushers at the line of scrimmage. They also revealed that they would likely be in man coverage, with a defensive back following tight end Trey McBride on the move. With that combination, Murray knew his first read would likely be Marvin Harrison Jr., who Murray said was “my best man beater.”

As Murray expected, the 49ers immediately came under pressure, so he dropped back, buying valuable time and throwing a floating ball toward Harrison. The rookie struggled for much of the game, but this is where his talent showed. He jumped up to the ball, beat his defender and scored the decisive first down.

“It just shows the confidence and trust,” Murray said. “Fourth: Who do I go to, one on one? I trust Marv to win.”

One play later, Murray showed his best skills. The Cardinals ran a standard read-option play that allowed defensive end Nick Bosa to dictate where the ball went.

Bosa had focused on Murray throughout the afternoon, allowing productive handoffs to Conner. But after opening the drive with so much success from Conner, the Cardinals expected Bosa to back down. He did just that, allowing Murray to gain a 13-yard gain.

Just like that, the Cardinals were within field goal range. At that point, they relied on Conner again and forced the 49ers to use their timeouts. It was a fairly conservative strategy, but Gannon was impressed with kicker Chad Ryland throughout the week of practice and concluded he had no other way to manage a game than with injured starter Matt Prater.

“This guy,” Gannon said, “can hit from anywhere.”

This time he had to hit from just 35 meters away. The bigger problem was that the 49ers still had 1:37 left to score their own win. On the sideline, Murray could barely watch.

“I hated it,” Murray said. “I hated it. I hated it.”

He didn't hate the result. That happened moments later when safety Jalen Thompson hit Brock Purdy, forcing an interception and sealing a win no one expected. A victory made possible by 14 plays and 75 magic yards.

In the final round, the Cardinals shocked the 49ers in their Week 5 game

ByVanessa

By Vanessa

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