3 Plays That Heavily Influenced the 49ers' Week 11 Win Over Arizona

Special teams have mostly been subpar for the 49ers this season, but that's not unusual. What is unusual is generating an explosive play on kick return.

Wide receiver Skyy Moore set the tone from the beginning of the game by taking a kick return for 98 yards. He was so close to scoring a touchdown, which is a bummer for him.

But thanks to his return, he set up a touchdown run for Christian McCaffrey. Just like that, the 49ers were spotted seven points 13 seconds in. Moore set the tone of the game for the 49ers.

Brock Purdy reignites the George Kittle connection

As tremendous a play as Moore generated on his return, it is secondary to the beautiful throw Brock Purdy gave George Kittle on the second series.

At the 9:57 mark of the first quarter, Purdy audibled the play, as he recognized the Cardinals were in man-to-man coverage. Since it was that coverage, Purdy knew he was going to target Kittle.

He threw a 30-yard dime to Kittle. It was spot on with Kittle perfectly extending his arms where only he could get it. That score put the 49ers up 13-0.

Now, the Cardinals were a little feisty after that score, but it only amplified the tone set by Moore on his kickoff return. It also indicated the type of game Purdy and Kittle were going to have.

Cardinals shoot themselves in the foot

If the Cardinals had only committed half of the penalties that they did, it would've been a much closer game. They helped the 49ers throughout that game with so many blunders.

But no other blunder was greater than this one that occurred in the third quarter. At the 12:56 mark, the Cardinals elected to go for it on fourth down with one yard to go from their own 40-yard line.

They needed to chase the game since they were down 25-10, but they mostly needed a spark. Sure enough, fireworks were lit up for them as running back Zonovan "Bam" Knight ripped off a 60-yard touchdown run.

Just like that, momentum swung to the Cardinals, and they cut the deficit to a manageable one-score game. Unfortunately, a holding penalty was called, nullifying the touchdown run.

This was the story of the game for the Cardinals. They ended up punting following the penalty and were never close to getting back in the game. It was over for them.

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