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On a scorching hot day at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where the temperature approached 40 degrees, the San Francisco 49ers looked well on their way to beating the heat, and the Arizona Cardinals, who came out on the other side of the 23rd minute came to rest. -10 49ers lead. But with the help of three second-half takeaways and an injury to 49ers kicker Jake Moody, the Cardinals were able to hold the 49ers scoreless in the second half as they rallied to shock the 49ers at home with a 24-23 victory.

After multiple highlights helped the 49ers to their halftime lead, they capped their second-half drives with two interceptions by Brock Purdy, a fumble by running back Jordan Mason, and a turnover on downs that came about after Moody left the match with an ankle. injury and left the 49ers without anyone they thought was capable of hitting a long field goal. The Cardinals were able to rally behind quarterback Kyler Murray, who finished with 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 19 of 30 passing and 86 yards on 19 carries.

Purdy finished with 244 yards on 19 of 35 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had his best game of the season for the 49ers thus far, catching eight passes for 147 yards.

First half

Things couldn’t have started much worse for the 49ers, who started the game with a three-and-out, in which leading receiver Jauan Jennings left the game due to a hand injury (Jennings would return later). Then, after starting on their own 28-yard line after the punt, the Cardinals needed just 47 seconds and two plays to take a 7-0 lead when Murray followed up on a 22-yard pass to tight end Trey McBride close with a career-long lead. 50-yard touchdown run.

The 49ers answered the touchdown with a splash play of their own as Purdy connected with Aiyuk for a 53-yard gain on the first play of the ensuing possession. But the 49ers couldn’t find the end zone from there, settling for a 28-yard field goal from Moody to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 7-3.

After a Cardinals three-and-out, the 49ers took over at their own 24-yard line and built on their momentum with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended in a Purdy touchdown completion against the tight end by George Kittle. . Purdy completed three more passes to Aiyuk on the drive, while Jennings also added a 13-yard catch before Purdy found Kittle from four yards out to take a 10-7 lead.

The two teams traded long field goals from there, as the Cardinals went on a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended in a 30-yard field goal by kicker Chad Ryland, followed by an 11-play, 68-yard drive. from the 49ers who fizzled inside the 10-yard line, ending with a 20-yard field goal by Moody to make the score 13-10. The Cardinals then moved into 49ers territory with a five-play, 43-yard drive and were in position to tie the game when Ryland lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt with just under five minutes remaining to go into peace. But then the 49ers pulled off their biggest special teams splash of the season so far: a picture-perfect, blocked field goal for a touchdown that extended the 49ers’ lead to 20-10. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott raised his arm at the line for the block, sending the ball flying into the hands of cornerback Deommodore Lenore, who ran 61 yards untouched into the end zone.

Moody suffered his injury while trying to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, but for a while it looked like it wouldn’t come back to haunt the 49ers, who kept coming up with highlights. This time it was Nick Bosa’s turn at defensive end, who ended the next Cardinals drive with an interception that gave the 49ers the ball in Cardinals territory with less than two minutes left in the half. The Cardinals were facing a 2nd-and-6 from the 49ers’ 24-yard line when a Murray pass intended to running back James Conner was picked off by a leaping Bosa, who then rumbled downfield 30 yards to give the 49ers the ball at the Cardinals’ 40 yard line.

The 49ers advanced in a 1st-and-goal situation after the interception, but had to settle for a field goal after failing to get the ball over the goal line. Moody’s injury on the previous kickoff meant punter Mitch Wishnowsky had to attempt a field goal, but Wishnowsky was able to score from 26 yards out as time expired in the half, sending the 49ers to the locker room with a 23–10 lead.

There was plenty of offensive production from both teams in the first half, as the 49ers gained 249 total yards to the Cardinals’ 206. Murray was responsible for much of the Cardinals’ yardage with 131 yards in the air and 66 on the ground, while Purdy finished the half with 165 yards on 12-of-23 passing.

Second half

The Cardinals opened the second half with a three-and-out, then came up with their first takeaway of the game when defensive tackle Roy Lopez tipped a Purdy pass into the hands of linebacker Mack Wilson for an interception. The Cardinals took over at the 49ers’ 25-yard line, but were stifled from there by the 49ers’ defense, settling for a 42-yard field goal from Ryland to cut the 49ers’ lead to 23–13.

The 49ers went on an 11-play, 43-yard drive on the next possession, but felt Moody’s absence as they got inside the Cardinals’ 30 and were forced to go for a first down on a 4th-and-23 from the 27. yard line. The 49ers turned the ball over on downs, and the Cardinals took over with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. The Cardinals then went on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard pass from Murray to tight end Elijah Higgins for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown brought the Cardinals within two points at 23-21.

The 49ers looked well on their way to answering the touchdown with one of their own as they moved inside the Cardinals’ 10-yard line on the next drive in seven plays, one of which was a 20-yard run from running back Jordan Mason , including a stiff arm contusion on defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting. But the Cardinals finally got Mason back inside the 10 when linebacker Jesse Luketa forced a Mason fumble that was recovered by Wilson at the 9-yard line with just over six minutes to play.

The Cardinals turned the fumble into a 14-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Ryland, taking a 24-23 lead with 1:37 to play. The Cardinals faced a 4th-and-5 early in the drive when Murray made a game-saving 14-yard completion under pressure from wide receiver Marvin Harrison, then a series of runs by Conner and Murray put the Cardinals within field goal range.

After a 27-yard return from Isaac Guerendo, the 49ers took over at their own 27-yard line with no timeouts and with 1:32 to play. All hope quickly ended, however, as after a 15-yard completion to Kittle to start the drive, Purdy slipped a pass under pressure and was picked off at midfield by linebacker Kyzir White, and the Cardinals were able to run run out the clock and seal the victory.

The Cardinals moved to 2-3 with the win, while the 49ers fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss.

Game Notes: Sunday’s temperatures made the game against the 49ers and Cardinals the hottest in Levi’s Stadium history… The 49ers entered Sunday’s game as 7.5-point favorites over the Cardinals… Three milestones occurred in the first half for the 49ers when Purdy scored the winner. fastest quarterback in franchise history to reach 50 career touchdown passes, while Deebo Samuel reached 300 career receptions and Jennings reached 100 career receptions… The 49ers now have an all-time mark of 36-30 against the Cardinals and have won five straight won in the series… In addition to Moody, the 49ers lost safety Talanoa Hufanga during Sunday’s game due to a wrist injury… The next game for the 49ers is a Thursday night matchup against the NFC West-leading Seahawks (3-2) at Lumenveld in Seattle. Kickoff takes place on Thursday at 5:15 PM PT (8:15 PM ET) (Broadcast: Prime Video).

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