There are 32 teams in the NFL, and anyone of them can win on any given Sunday. The term “trap game” gets used often when one team is statistically more superior than the other, but as they say, that’s why they play the game.
Teams do sometimes have a hard time turning up the intensity when facing lackluster opponents. Especially teams coming off of two consecutive Sunday Night Football performances against some of the League’s best talent. This was one of those cases when the Cardinals went to San Francisco. The Cardinals either just thought it was going to be easy, or they just couldn’t “get up” for this game.
My worries began when the television coverage began. They showed the 49er defense huddling up in the pre-game, with the one in the middle screaming something like “I’m tired of turning on the T.V. and hearing what they say about us!”
Honestly, the 49ers came out playing like it was their Superbowl. The San Francisco defense did what no other team has this year, they prevented Carson Palmer from throwing a single TD pass… and Palmer came into the game leading the NFL in passing TDs. They also held the Cardinals to just 70 yards on the ground which is Arizona’s second lowest total this year. The 49er defense came to play.
But this game was all about defense for the Arizona Cardinals as well. Arizona limited San Francisco to 67 rushing yards, and Tyrann Mathieu came down with the game’s only interception. Blaine Gabbert put up a valiant effort in front of the home crowd but it was the Cardinals defense that sealed the deal stopping the 49ers late in the 4th quarter.
The officiating in this game was, well, questionable to say the least but it wasn’t one-sided. The referees met up numerous times on numerous plays to discuss numerous calls which prolonged the game for numerous minutes. I can’t go into too much detail because it would take forever, like the refs did. The NFL’s officiating in 2015 has been it’s biggest knock. I’m not sure what can be done, or if anything can be done about this ongoing issue, but I would like to know a few things. What is a catch? What is an illegal hit on the quarterback? How hard is it to keep track of what down it is? What constitutes possession? Where do they find these people?
Jim Tomsula after the game, “I’m not going to comment on the officiating.”
Jim Tomsula (again) after the game, “I’m not going to comment on the officiating.”
Bruce Arians after the game, “… I thought our sideline was pretty calm, but the officials were struggling mightily. I mean, they can’t count to three.”
It appears neither Head Coach was happy with the officiating, but anyways, back to the game. San Francisco has to be happy with Gabbert’s play as of late. Tomsula noted that his QB has “gotten consistently better” and that he thought he ran the offense well. The 49ers threw for 318 yards against the Cardinals and Blaine Gabbert only had one turnover in the game. After the game Gabbert said that he needed to work on getting the ball out to avoid the sacks and that the 49ers need to find a way to put points on the board.
“Hey, I’m just taking it one game at a time. Confidence is key in this profession. If you don’t step on that field with that confident mindset, you’re not
going to play well. And so, I try and put my best foot forward day in and day out throughout the week of practice so I can go out there and be confident in our team, myself and go out there and win football games.” -Blaine Gabbert
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The Cardinal defense on the other hand felt good about limiting the 49ers to just 13 points. Although not good enough to take Monday off from practice, which is usually the protocol after a victory. This decision was made by the defensive team captain, Patrick Peterson, who said he wanted to make sure the team is ready for this next run in the season. This was Peterson’s first win ever in San Francisco, but the pro-bowl cornerback is already focusing on the remaining schedule. “These next five games are very important” Peterson said, “If we want to be home for the playoffs, we have to win them.”
On offense the Cardinals seemed to do just enough to win the game. Protection quickly became an issue with the SF defense blitzing and harassing Carson Palmer. 3 points in the first quarter, 3 points in the second quarter, 7 points in the third, and 6 points in the fourth quarter is not what got the Arizona Cardinals to the top of the division. This team was built to score and to score often. The biggest concerns moving ahead has to be at the running back position. The Cardinals lost Chris Johnson (knee contusion) and Andre Ellington (turf toe) during the course of the game. Arizona will now have to rely on rookie David Johnson and company while the starters try to get back to the field.
The San Francisco defense deserves a lot of credit in this game. It is clear that when they play their best they can play with the best. It’s just been a very tough year to be a 49er, period. NaVorro Bowman said after the game that the 49ers prepared more for this gae because they didn’t want to get embarrassed again. He said he was happy about the way they played and that they can’t focus on what the refs are doing during a game. “They make the calls and I have yet to see a call changed after an argument has been presented..” Bowman continued, “.. save your energy.”
Carson Palmer acknowledged the 49er defense in the post-presser as well, “Obviously they showed that they have a lot of fight left in them. I can’t stress that enough, that was a dog fight, a defensive battle.”
While Palmer may have not thrown for a TD in this game, he did use his 35 year old wheels to scramble in for the game winning TD. A play that can only be overshadowed by his Gronk impersonation gone wrong, let’s just say Carson might need to work on his power spiking skills. The Arizona quarterback said he that he was taking a lot of heat for it, but that he could care less.
All in all, it was a great battle between two teams that don’t really much care for each other. The only one’s who should walk away embarrassed from this game are the one’s who were wearing stripes. The Cardinals hadn’t swept the 49ers since 2008 (the year they made it to the Superbow), but when San Francisco plays their best it’s easy to see why.
