49ers Clinch the NFC West Division Title After Beating Down the Cardinals
Was there ever any doubt?
The San Francisco 49ers have officially clinched the NFC West division title after beating down the Arizona Cardinals. It wasn't a close game at all despite how the final score is presented. Arizona proved effective running the football, but were obliterated in every other facet of the game by the 49ers.
This was basically a "business as usual" win for the 49ers. The Cardinals never presented themselves to be a real threat in defeating the 49ers going into this game. So long as the 49ers didn't allow Kyler Murray to be electric, then it was going to be an easy win for them. And they completely made Murray look average. The 49ers defense continues to do its thing by suffocating offenses.
But the real heroes of the game today were from the offense. This was a homecoming game for Brock Purdy. He grew up in Arizona, so the stage was set for him to light it up against the Cardinals. Purdy did exactly that by tossing four touchdowns along with several other amazing plays throughout the game. His highlight play was on his final touchdown pass where he hit Deebo Samuel on a back shoulder fade for 19 yards.
It is insane to see how Samuel is now able to be used as an actual wide receiver now. For years, he was called a running back or simply an offensive weapon. Now, he is able to look like an actual wide receiver and that is thanks to Purdy who is optimizing Samuel along with the rest of the offense. He is firmly in the MVP discussion and is probably the leader now for it. But it could be tough for him to win it given the 49ers have another MVP worthy candidate in their offense with Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey tallied 187 total yards, five catches, and an astounding three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing). Aside from production, McCaffrey influences so much in the offense because the defense has so much attention on him. There is easily a case to be made for McCaffrey to win MVP as well. However, that isn't something the 49ers remotely care about. All that matters is getting back to the Super Bowl after four years, and the 49ers are in the best position to do so since then.
The defense is phenomenal, they have two MVP candidates at quarterback and running back, Samuel is back to his magical 2021 version, Brandon Aiyuk is a top-10 receiver, and George Kittle is still a lethal tight end. It's all there for the 49ers. They clinched the NFC West division title today, but it won't stop there. Now they need to continue to ride this momentum to ensure they clinch the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. That is going to be crucial for them to get back to the Super Bowl.
In order to do that, they need to continue winning, and it won't get easier next week as the 49ers will host the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas day.
