Week 4 Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 14, Arizona Cardinals 31

What you need to know

San Francisco 49ers

In front of 103,467 fans, the largest regular season crowd in NFL history, and the first regular season game played outside the United States, the 49ers’ defensive unit started out in dominating fashion. On the first play from scrimmage Bryant Young broke through the offensive line and sacked Josh McCown causing a fumble that the 49ers returned for the first touchdown of the game. The 49ers’ other score came on the Cardinals’ third series when Marcel Shipp was tackled in the backfield by Travis Hall and he too fumbled the ball which was scooped up and returned 78 yards for a touchdown by Derrick Johnson.

The 49ers’ offense was nonexistent throughout over a total of 50 plays the 49ers managed a total of 168 yards. On the night, the team had total of eight first downs. San Francisco’s offense moved the ball across the 50 yard line only twice on the evening. Tim Rattay was pulled in favor of rookie Alex Smith in the fourth quarter. Smith completed his first regular season pass in the NFL, finishing six of ten for 34 yards.

The 49ers committed eight penalties for 52 yards.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals started the game with two fumbles in their first three possessions. Both fumbles were returned for touchdowns. However the offense turned around in the second quarter and scored on eight straight possessions. They continue to struggle scoring touchdowns inside the opponent’s 30 as illustrated by their 16 – 3 field goal to touchdown ratio. The Cardinals ran 83 plays from scrimmage and had 24 first downs.

Josh McCown had an erratic first quarter but settled down quickly in the second and looked very accurate in the game. McCown showed elusiveness and accuracy versus a banged up 49ers’ secondary. His numbers were 32 of 46 for 385 yards and two touchdowns, career highs for the fourth year quarterback.

Wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin combined to catch 15 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown each. The Cardinals struggled to move the ball on the ground and preferred to take advantage of a banged up San Francisco secondary.

Marcel Shipp carried the ball 16 times for 42 yards and J.J. Arrington carried seven times for 13 yards. Of Arrington’s seven carries he had two that went for positive yardage.

The Cardinals were penalized four times for 37 yards.

What you ought to know

QB Tim Rattay, Pass: 11 - 21 - 126 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

Rattay had a game he would just as soon forget finishing 11 of 21 for 126 yards and an interception. His interception came on a miscommunication with receiver Brandon Lloyd as he threw it directly into the arms of Robert Tate on the 49ers’ second possession of the second half. He was able to move the team across the 50 yard line just once. Rattay was lifted in favor of Alex Smith in the fourth quarter.

QB Alex Smith, Pass: 6 - 10 - 34 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Smith came on in relief of Tim Rattay for the 49ers’ final two drives. He completed his first regular season passes of his career. He finished six of ten for 34 yards against a mostly prevent defense. He certainly showed arm strength on a couple of throws and was able to take the 49ers into Cardinals’ territory for only the second time.

RB Kevan Barlow, Rush: 10 - 45 - 0, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (5 targets)

Barlow had ten carries for 45 yards on the night and three catches for ten yards. On the game the 49ers’ running backs had only 13 total rushes.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 2 - 4 - 0, Rec: 2 - -12 - 0 (2 targets)

Gore had two carries for four yards and two catches for a negative 12 yards. The 49ers’ running backs combined on 13 total rushes on the game. Gore did lose a fumble late in the game off a reception from Alex Smith.

RB Chris Hetherington, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

Hetherington shared fullback duties with Fred Beasley.

RB Fred Beasley, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets)

Beasley made his way out of Coach Nolan’s doghouse as he started the game in the backfield with Kevan Barlow.

WR Brandon Lloyd, Rec: 7 - 102 - 0 (9 targets)

Lloyd made a number of outstanding catches but also had two costly breakdowns. In the first half he fumbled on the 49ers’ best offensive drive of the night. He also appeared to run the wrong route on a Rattay pass in the second half leading to a Rattay interception. He finished the game with seven catches for 102 yards. Lloyd and Morton were the only two wide receivers targeted by 49ers’ quarterbacks.

WR Johnnie Morton, Rec: 3 - 46 - 0 (5 targets)

Morton started in place of injured Arnaz Battle and made a couple of nice catches early on in the game. His numbers on the game were three catches for 46 yards.

WR Arnaz Battle

Battle was deactivated with a hamstring injury.

PK Joe Nedney 0 - 0 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points

Nedney was two for two on extra point attempts.

SF Rush Defense

The 49ers’ front seven held the Cardinals’ rushing game to 97 yards on 34 carries and a 2.9 yard per carry average. Jeff Ulbrich led the 49ers in tackles with ten.

SF Pass Defense

The 49ers’ pass defense struggled throughout the night giving up 366 yards to the Cardinals. With a banged up secondary the Cardinals were able to move the ball successfully through the air at a 7.5 yard per pass average. They did manage to hold the Cardinals to only two touchdowns on their eight scoring drives. The 49ers had three sacks on the game two of them coming from Bryant Young.

QB Josh McCown, Pass: 32 - 46 - 385 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 6 - 32 - 0

McCown had the best night of his career finishing with 385 yards. He completed 32 of 46 passes and threw two touchdowns. McCown showed elusiveness in the pocket as he scrambled for 32 yards on six carries. After a slow start where he was the victim of several drops he settled in nicely in the second quarter and led the team on eight consecutive scoring drives. He needs to improve on turning the drives into touchdowns as six of the drives ended in field goals. He made a statement against a banged up 49ers’ secondary giving the Cardinals their first win of the young season. It will be interesting to see how Dennis Green handles the quarterback situation when Kurt Warner returns from injury especially if McCown can follow up with another strong outing versus Carolina in week five.

RB Marcel Shipp, Rush: 16 - 42 - 0, Rec: 5 - 52 - 0 (5 targets)

Shipp struggled to find running room on the game. He finished with 16 carries for 42 yards and his fumble on the San Francisco 13 led to the 49ers’ second defensive touchdown of the night. Shipp did have five catches for 52 yards. Currently the Cardinals’ offensive line is struggling to open any holes for their running backs.

RB Obafemi Ayanbadejo, Rush: 4 - 9 - 0, Rec: 3 - 18 - 0 (4 targets)

Ayanbadejo had four carries for nine yards and three catches for 18 yards.

RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 7 - 13 - 0

Arrington carried the ball seven times for 13 yards. Most of Arrington’s carries on the night went for losses. He seems to be struggling finding holes and spends too much time running laterally.

WR Anquan Boldin, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0, Rec: 8 - 116 - 1 (13 targets)

Boldin had eight catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was only the third offensive touchdown on the season by the Cardinals and the first to a player other than Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin’s night could have been even bigger had he been hit on a couple of other throws where he was running free in the 49ers’ secondary.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 7 - 102 - 1 (11 targets)

Fitzgerald finished his night with seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a fade route in the end zone where he went up and over the cornerback to take the ball in. He made several grabs over defensive backs and looks like the Cardinals’ primary target in the red zone. He uses his body and his leaping ability to shield defenders and catches most anything thrown his way. He narrowly missed a second touchdown in the red zone but could not handle a McCown pass at the 49ers’ one yard line.

WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 4 - 50 - 0 (7 targets)

Johnson had five catches for 50 yards. He had a number of key drops early in the game.

WR Charles Lee, Rec: 2 - 28 - 0 (2 targets)

Lee played in four receiver sets and caught both passes thrown his way for a total of 28 yards.

TE Teyo Johnson, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (2 targets)

Johnson caught both passes thrown his way on the game for 16 yards.

TE Adam Bergen (1 targets)

Bergen had one ball thrown his way.

PK Neil Rackers 6 - 6 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 19 points

Rackers has hit sixteen consecutive field goals a Cardinals’ record. With the Cardinals struggling to put the ball in the end zone, Rackers has been a fantasy stud. Four of his six field goals came from more than 40 yards out. He took advantage of the thin air of Mexico on his kick offs as well as all of his kicks were touchbacks and he split the uprights with two of them.

ARI Rush Defense

The Cardinals’ rush defense was solid on the evening limiting the 49ers to 2.9 yards per carry. The 49ers’ longest run from scrimmage was for 11 yards.

ARI Pass Defense

Despite a banged up secondary that had two more defensive backs go down during the game, they held the 49ers to a total of 160 passing yards. They had one interception, five sacks and forced five 49ers’ fumbles. The Cardinals allowed the 49ers to cross the 50 yard line only twice in the game.