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The 49ers’ sloppy tackles and ineffective blitzes stood out against the Cardinals
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The 49ers’ sloppy tackles and ineffective blitzes stood out against the Cardinals

A loss and major injuries.

That will be an almost weekly occurrence for the San Francisco 49ers, who will be without kicker Jake Moody (high ankle sprain), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and perhaps safety Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) for the foreseeable future.

Kyle Shanahan had no update on Hufanga when he spoke to reporters at 8:45 a.m. PT on Monday, which is nearly seven hours earlier than he usually speaks the day after a game and underlines the team’s truncated schedule this week ahead of their “Thursday game.” Night Football” game against the Seattle Seahawks.

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The 49ers defense played 58 snaps – compared to 64 for the offense – against the Arizona Cardinals, the fourth time this season that unit has fallen below 60 snaps. Of course, those shots came in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees, and Shanahan said a big emphasis was placed on hydration Sunday night and Monday, especially with the Seahawks looming on Thursday.

The 49ers will have a glorified walk-through practice on Tuesday before heading to Seattle the next day.

Here’s how the individual snaps were distributed against the Cardinals:

Quarterback: Brock Purdy 64

Purdy completed just 54.3 percent of his passes, his lowest of the season. He found targets especially difficult to find in the deep red zone and was 8 of 17 (47 percent) inside the Cardinals’ 25-yard line. The 49ers rank 30th in red zone touchdown percentage after finishing first last season.

Tight end George Kittle briefly had the ball in his hands on a first-quarter throw to the end zone, but it would have been a tough catch. On another quick option throw to Kittle, who was charging toward the pylon in the second quarter, Purdy’s throw was too high and outside, leaving Kittle short of the goal line. Pressure from the Cardinals forced the quarterback to throw off his back foot.

Who did Purdy look for in the red zone? Kittle was targeted on seven of 18 red zone attempts with one touchdown; Jauan Jennings was targeted four times, all incomplete.

Over the past three weeks, Purdy has taken a long time to get rid of the ball, with some epic struggles accounting for that time. His time-to-throw stat on Sunday was 3.18 seconds. His throwing time for the season is 3.15 seconds, the highest in the NFL.

Running back: Jordan Mason 41, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 40, Isaac Guerendo 9, Deebo Samuel Sr. 5

Who says Mason is just a power back? According to Next Generation Stats, he reached 34.21 mph on his 34-yard run in the second quarter, the eighth-fastest speed in Week 5.

To put that in perspective, Kyler Murray reached a speed of 21.27 mph on his 50-yard touchdown run. Even faster: Deommodore Lenoir, who reached the top at 9:33 on his 61-yard return from a blocked kick.

Mason’s fourth-quarter fumble was just the second of his career (Week 2 at Minnesota) and the first he lost.

Shanahan said Christian McCaffrey would continue his work this week. There is no plan to remove him from the injured reserve during the short week, although he is now eligible to resign at any time.

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Wide Receiver: Brandon Aiyuk 59, Samuel 47, Jennings 36, Ronnie Bell 10, Trent Taylor 2

The rule of thumb for Aiyuk: the 49ers tend to target him against teams that play man coverage, which the Cardinals were in a lot of on Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, Aiyuk’s 12 goals were his most ever in a game where Samuel also played the entire game.

Purdy was off target on his first attempt at Aiyuk, but they connected on their next six. The seventh probably should have been complete as well, but a high throw from Purdy deflected off the receiver’s hands. Aiyuk’s 147 passing yards were his most since he had 156 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11 last season.

Shanahan said Chris Conley (oblique) and Jacob Cowing (shoulder) would be everyday this week. Neither played against the Cardinals.

Tight end: Kittel 58, Eric Saubert 13

Despite dealing with a rib problem, Kittle was a focal point in the passing game, including on Sunday when, like Aiyuk, he was targeted 12 times. His 0.25 targets per route rate leads the team, according to Fantasy Points Data.

Offensive line: Trent Williams 64, Aaron Banks 64, Jake Brendel 64, Dominick Puni 64, Colton McKivitz 64

The 49ers’ last-minute drive was thwarted when Purdy was hit as he threw and Arizona intercepted the resulting errant throw. But it wasn’t a bad day of protection for the offensive line. The Cardinals brought an extra rusher on that play and he hit home before Purdy lost the ball.

“They had a blitz,” Shanahan said. “If two guys bump into you, that means you’re hot. And we just have to get rid of the ball faster.”

Williams and Puni each gave up three quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, but neither offensive lineman gave up a sack.

QB pressure allowed

  • Point 3
  • Williams 3
  • Banks 2
  • Brendel 2
  • McKivitz 2
  • Kittel 1

Defensive line: Nick Bosa 45, Maliek Collins 38, Leonard Floyd 36, Jordan Elliott 28, Kevin Givens 25, Sam Okuayinonu 24, Kalia Davis 19, Robert Beal Jr. 13, TY McGill 11.

James Conner finished with 86 rushing yards. According to PFF, 74 of those yards came after contact.

The 49ers had 12 missed tackles. Three were committed by Bosa, who was active against the run – four tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage – but who, like everyone else, also looked away from Conner’s legs.

Missed tackles

Davis played 19 snaps after being activated from injured reserve on Saturday but did not record an official stat in the game. Shanahan said Gross-Matos, who went to IR on Saturday, had surgery on the knee that was injured in the preseason finale in Las Vegas. The 49ers had hoped the problem would go away with rest, but it didn’t. He is expected to miss one to two months.

Linebacker: Fred Warner 58, Campbell 58, Dee Winters 26

Shanahan said Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) would not play this week, which should keep Winters in the strongside linebacker role. The question is whether he will start criticizing Campbell’s weak role, something he started doing in Week 3. The Cardinals are 4 of 4 when targeting Campell in the passing game and opponents are 21 of 25 for 205 yards when targeting. him this season.

The 49ers blitzed Campbell and others on Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, they hit 36.4 percent of dropbacks, the tenth highest rate in week 5, after hitting 16 percent of the time through the first four weeks, the third lowest rate.

But those blitzes didn’t always thwart Murray (see below) on Sunday and haven’t been effective this year. Opponents have completed 67.7 percent of their passes for 396 yards as the 49ers blitzed. They have allowed a passer rating of 150.2 while blitzing, the worst in the league.

Safety: Bruin 56, Mustapha 47, Hufanga 11, George Odum 4

It was not a strong day for the security services. Hufanga missed an early ankle tackle against Conner at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, while Brown had a similar whiff in the third quarter. In total, the safeties missed four tackles and Hufanga was out of place to be the “eraser” on Murray’s opening drive touchdown run.

Hufanga may have injured his wrist on Conner’s missed tackle, as Mustapha was involved on the next snap and played the rest of the game. Shanahan had no update on Hufanga Monday morning. If the 49ers are left with Brown, Mustpaha and Odum, they can either sign rookie Jaylen Mahoney from the practice squad or re-sign veteran Tracy Walker III, who was on the team in September.

Cornerback: Lenoir 56, Ward 55, Isaac Yiadom 27, Renardo Green 1

Shanahan praised Murray for his fourth and fifth strikes on Marvin Harrison Jr. during the Cardinals’ game-winning drive. The 49ers brought a blitz and ran into Murray, who threw it to where he knew Harrison would be.

“We had a total blitz,” he said. “(I) thought it was a really good defense, but an incredible play by their quarterback. He didn’t have anyone blocking there and just backed off, retreated, surrendered and found the right guy to keep him on the field.

The completion for Harrison came against Yiadom, who was back as the team’s third cornerback after giving snaps to Green last week. Yiadom played a good match. That was the only completion he allowed and he also had a pass breakup in the second quarter. Lenoir, meanwhile, also allowed just one completion, for 0 yards. However, Ward gave up three catches for 75 yards and a 116.7 passer rating when targeted.

Special teams: Saubert 19, Odum 19, Jalen Graham 14, Tatum Bethune 14, Guerendo 14, Yiadom 13, Patrick Taylor Jr. 12, Jake Tonges 12, Mustapha 9, Rock Ya-Sin 9, Moody 8, Green 8, Mitch Wishnowsky 7, Okuayinonu 7, Winters 7, McKivitz 5, Puni 5, Jaylon Moore 5, Nick Zakelj 5, Spencer Burford 5, Banks 5, Collins 5, Campbell 5, Elliott 5, Givens 5, Lenoir 5, Brown 5, Warner 5, Trent Taylor 2, Juszczyk 1, Bell 1

Only Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys had scored more field goals (14) than Moody (13) this season, and Moody is by far the team’s leading scorer. He has 51 points so far. There is a tie for second place between Jennings, Kittle and Mason, who have 18. Last year’s top scorer: McCaffrey with 126.

Shanahan said the 49ers will have four kickers for a tryout on Monday. Expect one of them to be on the roster in time for Thursday’s game in Seattle.

(Photo: Hearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)