If you were at Levi’s Stadium Sunday afternoon, I hope you hydrated. And not the fun kind. By the second half, the temperature climbed above 96 degrees or 102 degrees depending on where you get your weather information from.
The 49ers completely failed to take advantage of a 13-point lead, and let the heat wear on them. They paid the price as the Cardinals got James Conner going, and San Francisco's red zone woes resulted in a startling 24-23 loss. Here are three takeaways.
Kicker hurt, a blocked field goal, and a little too much Purdy playmaking
In the third quarter of this game, the 49ers had a situation where they went for it on 4th-and-23 from the Cardinals’ 27-yard line because Jake Moody injured his ankle, and despite a chip shot field goal from Wishnowsky to end the first half, he was clearly not capable of kicking much beyond that.
It was a comedy of errors following the first drive of the game the 49ers ran the ball consistently and well. A one-yard Jordan Mason run was followed up by a Jauan Jennings false start. Then, after Purdy made an absurd escape for a first down a few plays prior, he made the mistake of trying the same. This time, he took a shot and a nine-yard sack to set up a 3rd-and-23. Purdy’s next pass was swatted at the line of scrimmage and then Kittle, well short of the goal line, dropped the 4th-and-23 attempt.
That sort of summed up where this game went for the 49ers. They were up 23-13 at that point, and were not at all serious about retaining the lead.
They let the Cardinals hang around and get James Conner going, and eventually, Arizona cut it to 23-21 with a two-point conversion. When they looked like they might finally respond, going nearly the length of the field, Jordan Mason fumbles inside the 10-yard line.
Arizona got the ball at the 9-yard line with 6:11 remaining in the game and Conner feeling inevitable. He opened with a broken tackle on Nick Bosa for a nine-yard gain. The 49ers got into a 4th-and-5, and would have had a Fred Warner pick-six, if not for a swatted pass. Instead, the Cardinals drove. The 49ers did enough to avoid a game-ending loss on a field goal, but without a kicker, and down a point, and devoid of timeouts, it was a bleak proposition.
Despite an opening gain from George Kittle, the 49ers failed to pick up a Jalen Thompson blitz, and Brock Purdy threw his second interception of the game. Ugly mistakes cost them in a game that they actively threw away.
An odd game script from the offense, and red zone woes
The 49ers were exceedingly pass-heavy to start the game, throwing on seven of their first eight plays. Maybe it was a product of the heat, where Kyle Shanahan wanted to avoid wearing out the offensive line.
Either way, the 49ers didn't start running it heavily until the second half. When they did get going, and it seemed like they might respond, Mason fumbled it away.
What they can malign more than anything, is their failure to get it done in the red zone. They scored just once on six trips there. There are plenty of things to blame Sunday, but that's chief amongst them.
Aiyuk is back
If you read the pregame preview, you’d have known an Aiyuk breakout was not just overdue, but on the cards specifically for this week (pun very much unintended).
“And so, too, should Brandon Aiyuk. He's been held at bay, running routes well but failing to reel the ball in. I suspect that changes this week, unless the heat gets the better of the 49ers' offense. There's just too much space to exploit and a clear gap in talent. Aiyuk should (key word there is "should") get back on track this week.”
He did. Aiyuk was instrumental for the 49ers Sunday afternoon. He had eight catches (on 11 targets) for 147 yards, beginning with a 53-yard catch to get things going for San Francisco. Three of them were third-down conversions, including a pair on 3rd-and-11s.
Against a woeful Cardinals defense, this was a clear time for Aiyuk to thrive, and while not much else went right for the 49ers, he did his part.