Cardinals Report Card: Brutal Grades After Embarrassing Loss to 49ers

Two weeks, two divisional blowouts for the Arizona Cardinals. How did they perform in some key categories?

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) spikes the ball after running in a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 16, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was the second week in a row for the Arizona Cardinals to be embarrassed by a divisional opponent.

The San Francisco 49ers flew into Glendale on Sunday and delivered a 41-22 beatdown in Brock Purdy's first outing since Week 2.

Offense, defense, and special teams all seemed to work together like a fine-oiled machine for Kyle Shanahan and Co. but on the opposite sideline things were imploding.

Watching this game, it was abundantly clear which team was better coached and it was the squad from Santa Clara that has endured just as many injuries, if not more, as the Cardinals and have still managed to put together a winning record and remain only two games behind the leader of the division.

READ: Cardinals Exposed in Blowout Loss

The Cardinals were outmatched. Of that there is truly no question.

So rather than go positionally this week, let's grade the team's performance in five key pillars: Execution, Physicality, Creativity, Discipline, and Resilience.

San Francisco 49ers Christian McCaffrey (23) stiff arms past Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Dante Stills (55)at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 16, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Execution -- Grade: D

There will be plenty to talk about in the creativity pillar regarding play calling, but looking at what the players on the field had to work with the execution was just not there on Sunday.

That is tough to say when you see a box score that reflects a new NFL record in pass completions (47) and over 450 passing yards for Jacoby Brissett to go with a season high receiving mark with Michael Wilson hitting 185 yards on 15 receptions, but the reality of this game is that those numbers exist only because the outcome of the game was largely written in the first quarter.

The Cardinals were once again punched in the throat with an early score. Skyy Moore was nearly untouched on a 98 yard kick return capped by a two yard Christian McCaffrey touchdown only 16 seconds into the game.

READ: Cardinals QB Made NFL History in Loss to 49ers

That lack of execution continued throughout the afternoon. The Cardinals offensive line struggled to open anything at all in the running game evidenced by Bam Knight finishing the contest as the team's leading rusher with only 24 yards on the ground.

Brissett, who has the lowest interception ratio in the NFL among active players, threw two interceptions through a combination of confused wide receivers, poor pass blocking, and poor timing.

On the defensive side of the ball the issues were the same. McCaffrey was uncovered for entire stretches of the game giving him free reign on the ground and through the air. Another 3 score game for the star running back against the Cardinals.

Josh Sweat was again the only Cardinal to show up on the stat sheet with a sack, although it should be mentioned that BJ Ojulari did manage to bring down Purdy on a failed two-point conversion.

Across the board, Gannon did not show up with a team ready to play their best football.

Nov 16, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws the ball while Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (97) defends in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Physicality -- Grade: C-

Supposedly the pillar that Gannon's teams are built around, Arizona didn't show up on Sunday and play aggressively from whistle to whistle.

It started with allowing over 140 yards on just two kick returns, but the theme carried through other elements of the game.

Walter Nolen and Sweat were the only two players to even sniff San Francisco's backfield and otherwise Purdy had a pleasant day in a clean pocket to welcome him back to the field of play.

READ: Cardinals Sound Off After 49ers Loss

As mentioned above, the Cardinals offensive line has regressed tremendously from the gritty, hard-nosed unit they were in 2024. A shell of their former selves they couldn't perform in the ground game or protect Brissett effectively.

The only reason this grade is a C- are the outstanding performances of Wilson and superstar tight end Trey McBride. Together, they combined for 25 receptions and 300 yards of offense. In essence, they were the Cardinals offense on Sunday and both players can always be counted on to play hard the entire match.

Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing talks to his offense during Cardinals training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, on July 31, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Creativity -- Grade: D

Drew Petzing found himself off of the hot seat for a minute after a good offensive performance in Dallas two weeks ago, but after two blowout losses he might be right back and joined by his fellow coordinator Nick Rallis who for the second week hasn't been able to figure out how to stop a high-powered divisional rival.

Attributing some of the big offensive numbers to "garbage-time", the offensive game plan from Petzing makes hardly any sense. After getting behind early again he completely abandoned the run game while keeping in some head-scratching plays like a zone read in the red zone with Brissett that was immediately blown up.

The few times he did try to run after the first quarter came in 2nd and long situations even though Brissett was having success in the passing game.

Defensively, Rallis didn't have answers for the 49ers and despite praise for getting a lot out of less talented units the past two seasons, questions are starting to pop up now after receiving an injection of talent and regressing in performance.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon walks off the field after their 41-22 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 16, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Discipline -- Grade: F

There is no other option for this grade considering the Cardinals broke their own franchise record for penalties in a single game on Sunday, seeing the yellow flag hit the field an astonishing 17 times.

Now, there are some valid questions about the officiating in this game. A penalty ratio of 17-1 catches the eye and it did feel like the crew in this match was poring over every Cardinals play with a fine-tooth comb and calling it all by the book while mostly ignoring San Francisco.

That being said, many of the calls on Sunday were technically correct and a sign that somehow the discipline of this team now filled with veterans like Calais Campbell and home-grown draftees who have grown up in this regime has declined.

Arizona has gone from the least penalized team in the league in 2024 to the fifth most in 2025. Discipline is one of the only ways for the layman to truly judge the performance of a head coach without elite ball knowledge and Gannon is failing in this department this season.

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) walks off the field after their 41-22 loss against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Nov. 16, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Resilience -- Grade: B-

Possibly the only semi-good thing that can be said after this performance, as well as last week in Seattle, is that this team did not lay down quietly.

There was fight until the very end but a combination of poor execution, physicality, creativity, and discipline led to a situation where winning wasn't an option.

Resilience can also be a coaching metric and in a very tough time to have something positive to say about this coaching staff, they deserve flowers for at least this.