Niners Nation
In early October 2024, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Arizona Cardinals. This was after they had blown a game to the Los Angeles Rams a few weeks prior due to some mental miscues and missed field goals, and a lot of questions were piling up about the team as a whole and their ability to finish. They managed to embarrass the Dallas Cowboys, but there was something wrong, whether you wanted to admit it.
Up 13 points to start the second half, the 49ers blew the lead and lost 24-23, highlighted by a fourth-and-five play where Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw a floater off his back foot and found someone despite the eons of airtime it had to be picked off or batted down. Who shouldered the blame was a talking point following the game: was it the defense that blew a 13-point lead in 30 minutes of play with nary an answer? Or was it the offense with its redzone ineptitude?
Regardless of who was to blame for the loss, one thing was apparent: if the 49ers’ defense didn’t shoulder the blame, previous losses also stemmed from their inability to close, so they certainly were not clean of it. The loss suggested that if the offense had an off day, the defense couldn’t be relied upon.
That’s not the same as the 2025 San Francisco 49ers. In a mirror of that 2024 game against the Cardinals, the 49ers had the offense take the day off and relied on their defense the entire game. What followed was 15 points, and a 13-point cushion was squandered away.
What I’m getting at is the defense this year had less room for error than last year, and managed to keep the Cardinals in check most of the game. Yes, there were dropped passes, and yes, there were Cardinals mistakes that benefitted the 49ers in the realm of “luck”. The defense still clamped down on each drive, except for a bonehead pass interference penalty in the end zone.
The offense managed to wake up at the right time and get the walk-off field goal, but they were largely absent this game. Which means, unlike 2024, the 49ers can rely on the defense without the fans ruining their teeth chewing on their nails. The Cardinals managed to convert fourth downs, but it wasn’t a game-winning, fourth-and-five floater where the defense just watched the ball sail in the sky.
Last year, I labeled the 49ers as a “frustrating disappointment”, and the limited sample size indicates that we aren’t even near that territory. Even if the 49ers lost today to the Cardinals, you saw enough on the field to know this wouldn’t have been nearly as infuriating as the loss last year. The 49ers are not healthy, yet they are giving teams a run for their money. Those of you around here might have heard the phrase, it’s not when the 49ers lose, but how. And the 49ers would have lost today by so many holes...
