49ers Bullied by Cardinals in Home Loss

From the first kick through the game’s final whistle, the San Francisco 49ers were bullied by the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers fell to 3-5 on the season following a 31-14 defeat at the hands of their division rivals. It was a shocking display by a team who has typically been the bully over the last few seasons. On a day with the Cardinals missing their best two players, San Francisco seemed lost from the start and failed to muster much of a fight. Here we take a look at three things that stood out from the embarrassing loss.

Ground and Pound

Arizona ran the ball down the throats of the San Francisco defense. The last time the 49ers Faithful saw this type of ground attack, they were cheering their team in the NFC Championship Game. The Cardinals racked up a total of 163 yards on the ground including three scores. San Francisco’s run defense has been spotty through most of 2021 but it was unable to slow Arizona at any point. Arizona’s offensive line bullied the San Francisco front. The losses of defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair were felt as the front seven struggled to push back at the point of attack.

San Francisco looked meek against an improved Cardinals offensive line, welcoming back a healthy Rodney Hudson back at center. San Francisco was helpless to slow down running back James Conner and was literally run over when Arizona’s Enj Benjamin turned cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick into a speed bump on his way to a touchdown run. Conner finished with 96 yards on the ground and two scores. It is telling that the Cardinals attacked the interior of the San Francisco defense with the run game.

Defensive Issues Pt. 2

The ground game wasn’t the only thing working for the Cardinals on Sunday. San Francisco struggled to slow down a high-flying Arizona passing attack led by quarterback Colt McCoy. Channeling his 2009-self, McCoy, picked apart the San Francisco secondary. McCoy finished with 249 yards through the air on 22 of 26 passing, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to running back James Conner. The screen pass to Conner featured the usual hits from the San Francisco defense including missed tackles and out-of-position defenders. It was the epitome of the battle between Arizona’s head coach Kliff Kingsbury and San Francisco’s defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.