The 49ers Must Avoid Making this Critical Error Against the Cardinals

The 49ers will need to pull all the stops to beat the Cardinals, but they must avoid making this move against them.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

After opening the first two games of the regular season on the road, the San Francisco 49ers will finally get to play in front of their home crowd.

Although, it looked like they had half of a home crowd in Seattle and New Orleans. Week 3 will mark the second time the 49ers will face an NFC West opponent. This time it is the 2-0 Arizona Cardinals.

It's typically challenging to defeat the Cardinals, particularly because of Kyler Murray. The 49ers will need to pull out all the stops for this matchup to become 3-0.

However, the 49ers must avoid making this move against the Cardinals.

Why the 49ers should not play Brock Purdy on Sunday

Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the third quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The move they must avoid making is starting Brock Purdy. Under no circumstances should the 49ers start him against the Cardinals. It doesn't matter if he's feeling close to 100 percent with his toe injury.

It doesn't matter if he was a limited participant in every practice session this week. The 49ers need to think of the entire season and not risk him after only one week off.

He is a quarterback who utilizes his legs a lot. It is what makes him a good player. Either he will be limited in that facet of his game, or he's going to be at risk of reinjury.

There's also a chance he injures something else. The point is that he is at an increased risk of suffering a new or worsening his current injury, and it's unnecessary to do so.

Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) looks to make a pass during the first half against Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Mac Jones didn't play like a scrub against the New Orleans Saints. He was solid in his performance, tossing three touchdowns.

The 49ers can run a well-balanced offense with him under center. However, Kyle Shanahan indicated that Jones' performance has nothing to do with it, which I disagree with.

“Mainly just how he's feeling and how he thinks he can go, what he thinks he can do today, what he thinks he could do tomorrow, Friday and Sunday," Shanahan said. "Really doesn't have anything to do with how Mac played, whether it was good or bad. Doesn't really affect that. I just talk about where Brock's at right now.”

If Jones played horribly against the Saints, then by all means start Purdy. But he played exceptionally, which should make the 49ers feel comfortable in starting him again to allow Purdy more time to heal.

The risk in starting Purdy outweighs the reward. Start Jones one more time so that Purdy can return and play with no limitations.

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