Believe it or not, there were also good performances from the San Francisco 49ers against the Arizona Cardinals in every phase.

The offense included nearly 400 yards of offense. The defense forced a turnover while the special teams scored a touchdown. If these three things happen nine times out of ten, you will win those games. The Niners found themselves on the wrong side for the second time in three weeks.

The sky always falls after a loss. So let’s highlight Sunday’s “Winners” and discuss some player achievements at the end.

WR Brandon Aiyuk

Hey, now we got one right! The Aiyuk escape was staring us in the face.

The Arizona Cardinals play soft coverages and don’t give No. 1 wideouts any extra attention. In our prediction, we said Aiyuk should reach triple figures against the Cardinals’ secondary. He had 91 yards on the first few drives.

Aiyuk had twelve goals during the season. It is striking that in both NFC West games, Aiyuk’s goals have doubled compared to the other three games. That tells me the coaching staff knows who they want to get the ball to in crucial games.

No, there is no correlation between Aiyuk being targeted more often and the 49ers losing. There are far too many variables involved in one specific game to isolate a loss and blame one game or player.

Aiyuk caught eight passes for 147 yards, including a long of 53 and 49 yards after the catch. It was the fourth most valuable performance of the week by any wide receiver in Week 5.

For those still wondering about Aiyuk’s separation issues, he had the highest average yards per separation of any of the top five receivers in total yards this week at 3.1. No one else got higher than 2.6.

Edge rusher Leonard Floyd

The pressure isn’t on the 49ers’ diamonds in the rough to perform. It’s about the starters, who play with large sums of money to contribute.

Floyd’s activity was incredible against the Cardinals. He was the only player along the defensive line with more than one pressure. Floyd got a sack, but most importantly he showed up as a run defender. Four of his five tackles were run stops.

As a pass rusher, Floyd was the only player above double figures at 12.5 percent on 23 snaps. Here’s a look at the pressure from the defensive line in Week 5, with the photos in brackets:

Nick Bosa (26): 3.8

Maliek Collins (25): 4.0

Jordan Elliott (14): 0.0

Kevin Data (13): 7.7

Sam Okuayinonu (11): 9.1

Kalia Davis (9): 0

Robert Beal Jr. (7): 0

TY McGill (5): 0

RB Jordan Mason

Mason fumbled at the worst possible time, as the 49ers could have iced the game and won two possessions. Instead, the offense lost the ball and we know how the game ended.

The piece can be filed under a ‘freak accident’. The Cardinals defenseman finished like he was throwing a hay pusher. Mason tried to protect the ball with both hands, but the defender timed his shot perfectly to end the drive.

The timing couldn’t have been worse, but I wouldn’t blame Mason, or any running back, in that situation.

Another play Mason gets blamed for is the interception on the final drive. It looked like Mason blocked the wrong player, but he got the most dangerous man – and that’s what you’re supposed to do. The right tackle failed, allowing a free runner closer to the quarterback, resulting in an interception.

Mason is mentioned here because he didn’t get much help from his offensive line. Despite this, he still managed the 49ers’ first 30-plus yard run of the season. Mason had another carry for almost 30 yards where he stiff-armed a linebacker for a big gain. Fifty of Mason’s 89 yards came after contact.

To get a better idea of ​​the blocking, Next Gen Stats projected Mason to average 3.5 yards per carry against the Cardinals. He finished with 6.4. The running game remains inconsistent on a down-to-down basis, but you can’t blame the running back.

Mason’s had better statistical results, but I’d say week 5 was his best game as a pure runner.

S Ji’Ayir Brown

When I look at the 49ers defense, I see that Ji’Ayir Brown is the Kyle Juszczyk on this side of the ball. He is asked to wear five different hats – sometimes all in one series – with little reward to come.

Brown gave up a long reception against the Cardinals, which was more of Arizona taking advantage of the coverage the 49ers were in than anything else. The other time Brown was targeted, it resulted in an incomplete pass.

On the very next play, after Tig gave up the reception, he made a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Remember how he played the run near the line last year? It was horrible on the border. His tackles were sloppy and he smelled more often than not.

There was a play where you could see Brown communicating with Charvarius Ward – who deserves his own post – exclaiming what the Cardinals would do and who should guard Mooney. They both ran with the same player, and Ward looked dejected afterwards, knowing he had made a mistake.

But it highlights how important communication is in this sport, and Tig certainly knows it. He also has a great sense of what’s to come, which tells me he’s a student of the game. Each of his run stops against Arizona was the result of film study.

Lost in the outcome was an impressive performance from the second-year safety.

IDKs

Turnover aside, if you’re a top-heavy team talent-wise and your stars aren’t performing, more often than not you’ll end up on the wrong side of the battle. There were several off-games from the team’s best players.

George Kittel

It feels strange to say that someone who caught eight passes and a touchdown was struggling, but this wasn’t your typical Kittle game. He dropped a first down early. On 4th and 23, Kittle dropped a pass of 20-21 yards. It may not seem like much, but Arizona went from starting inside their 10-yard line to starting the drive at their 27. They marched down the field to score a touchdown.

In the same way the team asks the impossible of Juszczyk, the same goes for Kittle when it comes to blocking. But it was an area where he didn’t excel on Sunday, which you may never see happen again.

Charvarius district

Ward is the poster boy for IDKs this week. He looked out as if his mind was in another room and thinking about something else.

I’ve seen Mooney compete. I know what he is capable of. And whatever product was on the pitch from number 7, it wasn’t the player we’re used to seeing.

I mentioned the miscommunication with Brown above. There was a deep crosser that led to a first down where Ward was jogging across the field.

Ward was fortunate that Kyler Murray threw the ball out of bounds late in the game in an out-and-up pattern. He was easily defeated for a touchdown. On the day, Ward allowed three of his four targets to be completed over 67 yards, allowing for a total EPA of +4.1 and an average distance of 3.7 yards on each target.

Ward’s most telling statistic was the donut he set up for tackles. When he’s “right,” Mooney plays the run as aggressively as a linebacker. I’m not sure if he was saving energy for Thursday or dealing with an injury, but this wasn’t the kind of All-Pro performance Ward has consistently shown during his 49ers tenure.

Brock Purdy

Last Sunday marked the first time in Brock Purdy’s career that the 49ers were shut out in the second half of a game. That’s how much the offense has spoiled the fan base.

As a fan of high variance in a sport that produces a lot of it, Purdy’s playing style appeals to me. But I believe he is developing bad habits.

The Cardinals tried to warm up the purdy with pressure. He finished 1-for-6 when pressured, including the final interception. Arizona played man coverage behind it, and Brock completed just 12 of 21 throws, including seven tight window attempts, according to Next Gen Stats.

Some of that can be attributed to separation – it’s man coverage, and the defense gets paid too. However, Purdy will be indecisive at times, and there were a few examples of that on Sunday.

It’s happening more and more in the red zone and that’s why we’ve seen the offensive struggle. The field is getting smaller, everything is moving faster, and with the 49ers working with more and more empty backfields, the pressure is on the quarterback to make a decision.

Purdy climbs into the pocket and delivers a throw when he’s confident and sure of himself. If the opposite is the case, he holds the ball and pulls out of the pocket, which is how you end up getting sacked on second down inside the red zone.

The tipped passes are the result of holding the ball and staring at the receiver for too long. On the last interception, there wasn’t much a quarterback could do in that situation.

Purdy remains one of the best at his position in the sport this year, but on Sunday we saw some cracks in the armor. He didn’t play bad, but it wasn’t at the level of a top-10 quarterback. Most of Purdy’s problems can be solved by climbing into the bag and trusting what he sees. When he plays on time, the offense is a juggernaut and he moves the ball at will.