Shanahan reveals what Purdy did wrong during Cards’ game-clinching blitz originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Even though they hadn’t shown any ability to get the job done, the 49ers still got one last chance on Sunday.

But the Arizona Cardinals thwarted that opportunity as the 49ers’ latest mistake sealed their fate.

The 49ers’ final mistake of the game wasn’t a matter of an error in pass protection. The Cardinals beat the 49ers with a tactical move, and quarterback Brock Purdy didn’t make a decision quickly enough.

“They just brought more than we had to block,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers’ 24-23 loss to the Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium.

In the blink of an eye, seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady summed it up in his new role as an analyst at Fox.

“Sometimes the players make the play,” Brady said. “Sometimes the plan makes the game. And in this case it’s a little bit of both.”

The Cardinals made the defensive call that clinched the win with 70 seconds left.

Purdy was a split second slow to recognize the pressure and dumped it to finish tight end George Kittle over the middle.

“They had a blitz,” Shanahan said Monday morning during a conference call with Bay Area reporters. “If two guys bump into you, that means you’re hot. And we just have to get rid of the ball faster.”

The Cardinals chose an opportune moment to call for an overload blitz, bringing four pass rushers over the right side of the 49ers’ offensive line.

Right guard Dominick Puni blocked defensive tackle LJ Collier, who was standing above him. Right tackle Colton McKitvitz was in charge of edge rusher Julian Okwara.

That set up 49ers running back Jordan Mason against linebacker Krys Barnes And safety Jalen Thompson.

Mason picked off the inside rusher, Barnes, as Thompson timed him to dart through the line and hit Purdy as he was throwing.

The pass fluttered through the air, allowing Arizona linebacker Kyzir White to end the play.

The 49ers had a 23-10 lead at halftime. But in four second-half possessions, Purdy threw two interceptions, Mason lost a fumble and the 49ers turned it over on downs — going for it on fourth-and-23 from the Cardinals’ 27-yard line.

The would-be field goal was about 10 yards out of reach of punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who was forced to punt after Jake Moody left the game with a high ankle sprain.

The 49ers opened double-digit leads in the second half of their losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona.

“I thought this one was worse than the Rams, in terms of us getting sloppier in terms of our turnovers and stuff like that, and not scoring in the second half,” Shanahan said.

“If you have an advantage over people, you have to kill them. The way you finish people is that you keep scoring. And if you don’t do that, you can’t turn it around and you end up having to hold people back.”

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