49ers news: Instant reaction to the 45-29 win over the Cardinals

It was touchdown heaven for the 49ers against the Cardinals on Sunday.

• By
  
  RohanChakravarthi
  
• on December 17, 2023 5:45 pm

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 11-3 with a 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15, remaining unbeaten in the division with one game left to go.

It was another offensive masterclass for the 49ers, who scored five touchdowns on that end, with Christian McCaffrey accounting for three scores of his own.

Following the game, 49ers analyst Rohan Chakravarthi shared his instant reaction to the team’s 45-29 win over the Cardinals, pointing out the major takeaways for the team moving forward.

Offense

Offensively, it starts with Brock Purdy, who continued to add to his MVP campaign with a 242-yard, four-touchdown performance while completing 64 percent of his passes and recording no turnovers.

There were only one or two plays offensively that seemed out of touch in the passing game on some deep balls, but Purdy continued to excel both on and off-script, leading to another clean performance.

Christian McCaffrey was the star of the show, scoring three touchdowns and accounting for 187 total yards, while leading the 49ers in receiving with five catches for 72 yards and two scores.

In the passing game, it was more of a variety between the pass-catchers, as six different receivers earned two catches or more, while nobody but McCaffrey topped 55 yards in the game.

Regardless, the 49ers had 45 points on the day, while putting up 406 yards of offense and recording zero turnovers in a strong offensive performance.

Defense

The 49ers allowed 29 points in the loss, which was the highest total for an opponent over their current six-game winning streak, speaking to some of the struggles on Sunday, as well as their elite play in the five weeks prior.

It was a tougher performance against Arizona, as the 49ers surely missed defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead. James Conner went for 86 yards on the ground, while the 49ers allowed over 230 rushing yards.

Tackling was a problem all afternoon long, and it stemmed from top players like Fred Warner.

The reason for some optimism was cornerback Charvarius Ward, who had two interceptions, including a pick-six, to stop Arizona from scoring more points.

Additionally, the 49ers forced three field goals from the Cardinals, while they scored six touchdowns offensively on the day.

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