3 Thoughts on 49ers' 24-20 Loss to Arizona Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers (0-1) dropped a very winnable week one game, losing 24-20 to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals (1-0) on Sunday.
There’s a lot to be said about the disappointing loss, but here are three thoughts:
DeAndre Hopkins makes the NFC West more than a two-team race
The Cardinals were a common pick to contend for a wild card spot, but maybe that’s underselling it.
Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury held a commanding tempo while the defense, which underwent a big makeover, executed in crunch time.
But the advantage Arizona had over the 49ers, and will have over the other 31 NFL teams, is wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins had 14 catches for 151 yards in his first game in Kingsbury’s offense. He was already considered a top-five receiver, but he grabbed hold of the No. 1 spot on Sunday.
The 49ers had no real answer for Hopkins as both Emmanuel Moseley and Richard Sherman struggled in coverage.
Sherman, who usually sticks to one side of the field, manned the “open side” of the defense on Sunday rather than shadow the Cardinals’ best weapon.
That often meant a date with Hopkins. In theory, the positioning was a way to limit the space on the larger side of the field. In Sherman’s post-game presser, he said that was “an adjustment coach Saleh made.”
But even that couldn’t contain Hopkins, as the now shuffled 49ers defense lost Hopkins in coverage, which resulted in a 33-yard catch to the one-yard line on the Cardinals’ game-winning drive.
Arizona spent their 2020 first-round pick on Isaiah Simmons in order to combat George Kittle. There’s nothing wrong with Sherman or Moseley. They’re both extremely talented cornerbacks.
But the 49ers might need to invest in an elite man-cover corner if they ever want to limit Hopkins.
Super Bowl demons resurface
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs stole the 49ers’ killer instinct in the Super Bowl. It was evident that they have yet to regain it.
A lot of the blame for Sunday’s loss will fall on Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed a few throws that likely would have changed the outcome of the game. But the lack of offensive rhythm allowed Arizona to completely dominate the second half.
A double-digit blown lead and a potential game-winning Garoppolo missed throw, this time an underthrown ball to Kendrick Bourne, brought up a few painful similarities to the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss.
San Francisco, a team that prides itself on its ability to control the game, made 11 fewer first downs, was just 2-for-11 on third down, and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
“It starts with we didn’t have a good enough plan,” Shanahan told the media post-game. “When you’re 0-for, it’s never just one thing, it’s a number of things. They did a good job in their defense. They had a good third-down plan. But I know we can do better than that.”
Another Super Bowl flashback was the abandonment of George Kittle in the pass game and Raheem Mostert in the run game.
Kittle was targeted just one time in the final three quarters, zero times in the second half.
Mostert had just six carries for 28 yards in the second half as the Cardinals outrushed the 49ers 180-123 in the game.
It’s understandable to abandon the run when your quarterback is on fire or when trailing by multiple scores. But without Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk, and their backs against the wall, the 49ers needed to put the ball in their playmakers’ hands.
It’s not all bad
Yes, it was a very winnable game that they ultimately lost, but the sky is not falling.
The 49ers are still one of the best teams in the NFL and have 15 more games this regular season. You’d be hard-pressed to say they’re overmatched in any of those. They have plenty of time to reposition themselves atop the NFC.
As much flack as Shanahan receives for in-game adjustments, there are plenty of reasons to believe the offense will be drastically better next week.
The 49ers scored over 30 points in all three games after a loss last season (36 against Arizona week 11, 48 against New Orleans week 14 and 34 against the Rams week 16). They also averaged 430.67 yards in those games.
A Week 1 loss does not take the No. 1 seed out of contention. The Baltimore Ravens were the NFL’s top team last regular season, and they started the year 2-2.
The 49ers will spend the next two weeks in New York, and should have no problem returning home 2-1.
Once back to Levi’s, they’ll host the Philadelphia Eagles (0-1), Miami Dolphins (0-1) and the Los Angeles Rams (1-0).
The 49ers could very well be 5-1.
Follow me on Twitter @Mavpallack
