Up and down the 49ers’ season goes.
The lows? They’ve been pretty low.
But the highs, like Sunday’s 41-22 win over the Cardinals? Those are crazy high.
What is this 49ers team? Who can say? Week by week, we’re in for a surprise.
Sunday provided a positive one.
The 49ers’ offense was at its best in the desert, its defense was opportunistic, its special teams… did things, and San Francisco is back in the win column and in control of their own playoff destiny again.
Here were the studs and duds from a big get-right game for the Niners.
STUDS 💪
Deommodore Lenoir • CB
» I’ve been hard on Lenoir for his play this season, because, frankly, it has been sub-standard for a player that was supposed to be at least Pro Bowl-caliber.
Lenoir was hardly sub-standard on Sunday.
In what was unquestionably his best game of the season, Lenoir was sticky and decisive in coverage and provided some nice pop in the run game. His interception in the third quarter sealed the game and totally redeemed himself for what might have been his only bad rep of the contest a few plays before.
With all the trouble the Niners are going to face when they’re on defense for the remainder of the year, this is the Lenoir the Niners need.
Skyy Moore • KR
» His 98-yard kick return to the 1-yard line to open the game was arguably the most important play in this game.
What a way to start — a necessary one, I’d argue for the front-running Niners.
George Kittle • TE
» Not only did the Niners’ tight end catch a touchdown of his own, but he was instrumental on the 49ers’ third touchdown of the game, where he ran a legal pick to free up Christian McCaffrey for an untouched score.
Kittle ended the game with six catches for 67 yards and three touchdowns. The 49ers’ offense is at its highest level when Kittle plays at his best.
Brock Purdy • QB
» This isn’t to take anything away from Mac Jones, who performed well in Purdy’s absence, but the 49ers offense carried a different dimension on Sunday.
Purdy might make some risky plays at times, but he is a player who is in full control of this attack.
And that, folks, is definitely what the Niners will need moving forward.
Christian McCaffrey • RB
» He will cede touches when he makes up for all the carries and catches he missed last year.
The 49ers’ offensive line
» Healthy and versatile, it has rounded into form and is looking like one of the better units in the NFL (not a high bar) over the last month or so.
Dee Winters • LB
» Winters has been outstanding in covering the flats on passing plays this season, and against Arizona that meant he was tested early and often. I thought he stood up well, as per usual. The Niners’ defense is in a world of hurt right now, but Winters has proven himself to be indispensable.
Curtis Robinson • LB
» Stepping in for the injured Tatum Bethune, Robinson turned in a quality shift at middle linebacker.
DUDS 📉
Renardo Green • CB
» Green actually had a fine game opposite Lenoir, but his need to show Trey McBride what the Cardinals tight end had done to him on a second-quarter, grabbing his facemask and pushing after a third-down play that ended short of the sticks was whistled dead was an unforgivable mistake.
Should McBride have been penalized? Of course. Was Green going to get away with doing the same thing? Never.
Football is an emotional and physical game, but the Niners coaches were justified in benching Green for the rest of that series, which turned into three (ultimately meaningless) Arizona points.
The Arizona Cardinals
» This is an entertainment product. Show up prepared to play a division game, guys. Seventeen penalties (a Cardinals record), three turnovers, and zero fight — this is the game that will get Jonathan Gannon fired. (By the way, when your team is being embarrassed, you might want to say something into your headset or show a modicum of emotion… just a thought.)
Niners fans won’t and shouldn’t care, but that was not an NFL-caliber performance.
