Jacoby Brissett now has the most completions in an NFL game with 47. That might be the only good thing coming for the Arizona Cardinals after their 41-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but it also might say a lot about the issues the 49ers face going forward.
Despite a few strange balls from Brock Purdy that could have (and probably should have) been intercepted, the offense was humming. The 49ers’ special teams also showed up with an impressive return to start the game—and some mistakes later. So four quarters later, the Cardinals get 22 points while the 49ers run all over them, right?
Well, one problem: the 49ers were kind of just letting Arizona get in their own way.
I don’t mean to be the killjoy here after what was a fun mollywhopping. Still, this game may have said a lot more about the Cardinals, their injuries, and their poor coaching than it has about the 49ers’ offense being back or the 49ers’ future prospects as a dominant team.
Sure, the 49ers offense was efficient, scoring 41 points, but they also only put up 281 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Brissett throws for over 400 yards and sets an NFL record for completions, while keeping the 49ers from registering a single sack against him.
Yes, he also threw two interceptions. Those interceptions, among other things, were what made this game what it was. What other things? Well, 17 of them were Cardinals penalties, a franchise record and the most from any team in the league this year.
If there weren’t penalties, things like this would have stuck:
Just a reminder: good teams don’t typically do that.
To be fair, on a fourth and one call like that, and a Cardinals running back we’d later know as Bam Knight getting a touchdown, screams something funny was going on at the line of scrimmage. And there was: holding. The touchdown was wiped, and the Cardinals punted.
We all know, as 49ers fans, nine out of 10 times, a holding flag isn’t going to save them there. What you saw was an exception to the rule. Sure, the 49ers defense saved the day on a (sweet) fumble juuuuust before Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins crossed the goal line, and they did notch those two aforementioned picks, but 400 yards and record-setting completion number may not sit right.
Especially when you consider this: remove the two interceptions and penalties, you’d have a game where the 49ers’ pass rush was getting picked apart every time Brissett dropped back. And unlike Week 3, there were fewer dropped balls this time.
In other words, the 49ers can’t count on this type of game happening often, where they get 45 points anyway, especially in the playoffs. If their offense can keep doing what it did today against a playoff defense, that says a lot. But it’s clear after last week with the Rams and this week with the Cardinals, that depending on the defense is going to be rather tricky.
That’s my takeaway from all of this. If the 49ers need to rely on their defense this year, you will get things like Sunday, where a quarterback is eating lunch in the backfield before throwing the ball. If the special teams and offense can show up, the defense may keep absolute disaster from happening, but if offense or special teams so much as blink, it’s going to be a long day, and it’s doubtful the 49ers could keep up.
With Brock Purdy back, he and the offense may have to carry the team every week from here on out. This isn’t a defensive issue; the defense is just injured beyond belief. And when the offense isn’t on its game, well, you can’t count on the other team gifting you 130 yards from record-setting penalties.
And with just 281 yards of offense, you wonder what happens when they need 450 yards to win.
Kyle Shanahan didn’t seem too bothered by the yardage:
“I was really proud of our defense. I think it was 35-10 at some time in the fourth quarter. I think we played a lot of soft zone, wanted to make them work for it to get down the field. You obviously would like to get off and stuff, but losing a defensive end in that game with Robert going down early in the game, playing with three defensive ends through 82 plays and our linebackers in and out, I thought our guys grinded. I thought we kind of wore out big time at the end, but we were playing pretty soft coverages and just trying not to let them get back in the game. The yardage does suck, but sometimes that’s how games play out and with the turnovers they got and how they played throughout that game, I thought the defense was really, really good.”
What is your takeaway from Brissett having his way with the pass rush? Are you as concerned about it, or did you see enough not to worry?
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