Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers thrive on mayhem. At least that’s how it felt for the third consecutive week on Sunday as they came from behind in a 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals to improve to 3-0 on the season.
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout, and the 49ers were in a precarious spot down 15-13 after a holding penalty forced a safety and gave Arizona the ball with 3:15 remaining in the game.
But, after an impressive defensive stop, backup quarterback Mac Jones led the 49ers down the field and Eddy Piniero hit the game-winning 35-yard field goal to get San Francisco a huge divisional victory in their home opener.
Here are three quick takeaways from San Francisco’s 16-15 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Let Mac Cook
Ahead of the game, one of my keys to the game was to Let Mac Cook. Arizona came into the game with one of the best run defenses in the NFL (and a strong overall defense), so the way to open up the run game was via the passing game.
San Francisco was going to go through its struggles offensively, which we saw in the first half, against a tough defense. But, there were several situations where head coach Kyle Shanahan put his faith in the backup quarterback.
After two three-and-outs to open the game, Jones completed four straight passes on San Francisco’s third drive as the 49ers leaned on the passing game to get into Arizona territory. A Christian McCaffrey five-yard loss on 1st & 10 at the Arizona 19-yard line derailed the drive, but the 49ers were able to get a field goal on the drive.
On the following drive, looking to execute a two-minute drill, Jones bounced back from two incompletions to hit Ricky Pearsall for a 20-yard gain on 3rd & 10. Jones proceeded to complete four of his next five passes on the drive, but a Jake Brendel holding penalty put them behind the sticks and led to a field goal to end the half.
Similarly, after a three-and-out to start the second half, Shanahan put the ball in Jones’s hands, throwing on early downs to start the drive. San Francisco threw on three first downs on the drive, and Jones went 5/5 for 50 yards, leading the 49ers to the 1-yard line. Unfortunately, they were stuffed at the 1-yard line and turned it over on downs with an incompletion on fourth down.
To open the fourth quarter, the 49ers had a 4th & 2 at the Arizona 40-yard line after starting the drive with good field position. Going for it, Shanahan just dialed a go-ball for Ricky Pearsall. No tricks, no special routes. Just a 1-on-1 opportunity for Pearsall and Jones hit him for 34 yards, which set up a one-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk two plays later.
Jones also suffered a lower-body injury, limping after taking a hit on the drive. And he went through some downs, including an ugly interception on the...
