SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The defense wilted in the heat, the offense couldn’t finish drives or protect the ball and the San Francisco 49ers frustratingly blew another late lead to a division opponent.

Brock Purdy threw two interceptions in the second half, Jordan Mason lost a fumble in the red zone and San Francisco allowed Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals to drive for two scores in the fourth quarter in a 24-23 loss That seemed eerily familiar on Sunday in an earlier loss to an NFC West foe.

Two weeks after giving a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead to the Los Angeles Rams, the Niners (2-3) did it again as they couldn’t secure a 23-13 lead against Arizona. This marked the sixth time they have posted a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of the regular season and the playoffs under coach Kyle Shanahan, ahead of 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 knock teams out early when we have the chance.”

The Niners had plenty of opportunities to maintain control thanks to a blocked field goal that Deommodore Lenoir returned for a touchdown in the first half and a Nick Bosa interception that set up a field goal.

But San Francisco left the Cardinals hanging in the game and pulled it out late, with Murray throwing a 2-yard TD pass to Elijah Higgins, followed by James Conner’s 2-point conversion that made it 23-21.

Murray then converted a fourth-and-5 pass to rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. under heavy pressure. on the winning drive, while the running game did the rest.

“We kind of melted in the second half,” All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner said. “Too many leaking distances, missed tackles, poor passing.”

The offense’s blunders were even more costly. The 49ers settled for field goals three times after getting within 10 in the first half. They had another red zone drive in the second half, with a turnover on downs, when they went for it on fourth-and-23 because kicker Jake Moody went out with a high ankle sprain.

Then came the costliest mistake when Jordan Mason lost a fumble on first down and a goal from the 8 with 6:20 to play and San Francisco protected a two-point lead.

“I just have to be better and more aggressive out there, and collectively as a unit, once we get there, we all have to have our mentality, man, we have to carry 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 all that, the 49ers still had a chance when they took over at their own 27 with 1:32 to play. Purdy completed a 15-yard pass to George Kittle to get the drive going. But on the next play, Jalen Thompson came in unblocked on a blitz and hit Purdy, forcing him into a floater that was intercepted by Kyzir White to seal the win.

After going 11-1 in the division over the past two seasons — with the only loss coming when several starters were rested in a Week 18 game against the Rams last season — San Francisco has lost its first two NFC West games heading into a showdown with first-place Seattle on Thursday evening.

“The standard here is excellence,” Purdy said. “What we have proven in recent years of the level we can play at, that is what we are trying to achieve. It’s still early in the season and we’re still trying to find our true identity as a team. We’ll get there. It’s still a few plays and a few rides away from gelling and gluing together. So I’m confident we’ll find it.

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