3 Plays That Heavily Influenced the 49ers' Win Against the Cardinals

The 49ers don't defeat the Cardinals without these turning point plays.

Sep 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (1) makes the catch inform of Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (34) during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

It wasn't pretty by any means, but the San Francisco 49ers gutted out a 16-15 win against the Arizona Cardinals.

There were a handful of moments in the game that led the 49ers to victory. However, three plays stood out the most and heavily influenced the 49ers' win against the Cardinals.

Mac Jones and Ricky Pearsall fourth quarter heroics

Sep 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (1) makes a catch against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

At the 12:06 mark in the fourth quarter, the 49ers' offense was staring down a 4th-and-2 at Arizona's 40-yard line. It's a part of the field that's essentially no-man's land.

It's too short of a field to punt and too long for a kick, unless you have Brandon Aubrey. With the game tied 6-6 and time running scarce, Kyle Shanahan went for broke.

The decision to go for it on fourth down in that spot isn't wild, but the play call was. Shanahan dialed up a go-ball for Mac Jones to hit Ricky Pearsall on the right sideline.

Doing that with a backup quarterback is risky, but Shanahan showed the utmost confidence in his quarterback, and it paid off. Jones threw a dime to Pearsall for a 34-yard conversion.

That conversion would set up the 49ers to score their first touchdown of the game on their very next play. Momentum finally was on the side of the 49ers and was the first turning point of the game.

Rookie to the rescue

Sep 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) drops the pass as San Francisco 49ers cornerback Upton Stout (20) defends during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

With each passing week, the 49ers' rookies look stronger and stronger. Look no further than when rookie Upton Stout came to the rescue with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers were trailing by two points at the time. Their defense needed to prevent a third-down conversion with nine yards to go from the 50-yard line.

Otherwise, the Cardinals were likely going to win the game. Kyler Murray dropped back to pass and found a fairly open Zay Jones roughly 15 yards down the field, close to the right sideline.

Jones caught the pass, and for a moment, it felt like the game was over. Then, Stout put his superhero cape on and dislodged the pass while tackling Jones.

That was perfectly sound technique from Stout to play through the hands despite initially allowing the catch. His pass breakup gave the 49ers a chance to have one final drive at winning the game.

Christian McCaffrey ices it

Sep 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) carries the ball against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The 49ers got the ball back at their own 20-yard line with 1:46 left to go. Driving into field goal range was going to be a tall task, as they had struggled to move the ball all game.

However, Shanahan dialed up a couple of quick throws for Jones to hit to get him in the groove and kickstart momentum. Before you knew it, the 49ers were closing in on field goal range.

But given their kicker history, the 49ers preferred to get as close as possible for it. That is when Shanahan called a perfectly sequenced screen play to Christian McCaffrey with 25 seconds left.

McCaffrey took the screen from the Cardinals' 36-yard line all the way to their 16-yard line. For a second, it looked like McCaffrey was going to score a touchdown.

Nevertheless, it was a play to ice the game by setting up Eddy Pineiro for the game-winning drive.

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