The defense struggled in the heat, the offense failed to finish drives and protect the ball, and the San Francisco 49ers lost another late lead to a division rival in a frustrating way.
Brock Purdy threw two interceptions in the second half, Jordan Mason fumbled in the red zone, and San Francisco let Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals score twice in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 24-23 loss on Sunday that felt all too familiar after a previous defeat against another NFC West team.
Just two weeks after giving up a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter to the Los Angeles Rams, the Niners (2-3) did it again, unable to hold onto a 23-13 advantage against Arizona.
This was the sixth time they have lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter during regular season and playoff games under coach Kyle Shanahan, which ties for the most by any coach in the NFL since he was hired in 2017.
“It’s super frustrating,” All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams said. “Obviously, we have to figure out how to close out games and how to get teams out early when we have the chance.”
The Niners had several opportunities to take control, including a blocked field goal that Deommodore Lenoir returned for a touchdown in the first half and an interception by Nick Bosa that led to a field goal.
However, San Francisco allowed the Cardinals to stay in the game, with Murray throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins and James Conner’s 2-point conversion making it 23-21.
Murray then completed a fourth-and-5 pass under heavy pressure to rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. on the winning drive, while the running game helped secure the victory.
“In the second half, we kind of melted down,” All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said. “Too much leaky yardage, missed tackles, not fitting it right.”
The mistakes by the offense were even more damaging. The 49ers had to settle for field goals three times after getting inside the 10-yard line in the first half. In the second half, another red zone drive ended in a turnover on downs when they decided to go for it on fourth-and-23 because kicker Jake Moody was out with a high ankle sprain.
The biggest mistake happened when Jordan Mason fumbled on first and goal from the 8-yard line with 6:20 left, while San Francisco was holding a two-point lead.
“I just got to be better and more aggressive down there, and collectively as a unit, obviously once we get down there, all of us our mindset man has to be we’ve got to punch this in,” Purdy said. “We know we can settle for a field goal, but we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and cross the goal line.”
Despite everything, the 49ers still had a chance when they started a drive at their own 27 with 1:32 remaining. Purdy completed a 15-yard pass to George Kittle to begin the drive.
But on the next play, Jalen Thompson came in unblocked on a blitz and hit Purdy, causing him to throw a floating pass that was intercepted by Kyzir White, sealing the win for the Cardinals.
After going 11-1 in the division over the past two seasons — with the only loss happening when several starters rested in a Week 18 game against the Rams last season — San Francisco has lost its first two NFC West games as they prepare for a matchup with first-place Seattle on Thursday night.
“The standard here is excellence,” Purdy said. “What we’ve proven the last couple of years of the standard of what we can play at, that’s what we’re trying to get to. It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team.
We’re getting there. It’s a couple of plays away and a couple of drives away from gelling and gluing together. So I’m confident that we’ll find it.
