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49ers Defeat Cardinals, Secure NFC West Title

The Arizona Cardinals fell short of the San Francisco 49ers in Week 15.
Donnie Druin|
49ers Defeat Cardinals, Secure NFC West Title
49ers Defeat Cardinals, Secure NFC West Title

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Arizona Cardinals

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals fell to the San Francisco 49ers by 45-29 fashion in Week 15, dropping to a 3-11 record on the season.

With the win, San Francisco has won the NFC West for 2023, their second division title in the last three years. 

Here's how the action panned out at State Farm Stadium:

Fourth Quarter

Not looking to give up just yet, the Cardinals found some life in the form of a 49-yard Emari Demercado touchdown run. The two-point conversion was no good. 

SF 35, AZ 22

It didn't take long for the 49ers to answer, as Samuel found his second touchdown of the day against Arizona to push San Francisco over the 40-point mark. 

SF 42, AZ 22

On the ensuing drive, Murray would throw his second interception of the day and unofficially put the game to bed with Ward's second pick of the afternoon.

The 49ers would add a 43-yard field goal from Jake Moody to put the icing on the cake, establishing a 45-22 lead with 3:09 left. 

Arizona did snag one final score in before the clock hit zero, as Murray found Elijah Higgins with under a minute left for another touchdown.

SF 45, AZ 29

Third Quarter

The 49ers wasted no time on their opening drive of the second half, scoring in just four plays. McCaffrey notched his second touchdown of the day - a wide open one at that.

SF 28, AZ 13

The Cardinals saw a minor scare after Murray went down with an apparent groin injury, though he was able to rejoin action shortly after making a quick trip to the blue medical tent. 

Arizona added a field goal towards the end of the third to draw the SF lead to 28-16. 

On the ensuing drive, McCaffrey would find his third touchdown of the day to extend the lead.

SF 35, AZ 16

The Cardinals retain possession when the fourth quarter begins.

Second Quarter

On just the second play of the quarter, Matt Prater knocked home a 58-yard field goal to draw Arizona's deficit to 14-10. 

After forcing a three-and-out, the Cardinals converted a fourth-and-short near midfield to keep the drive alive. They ultimately settled for another Prater field goal - this time from 43 yards - to draw within one. 

SF 14, AZ 13

The 49ers - needing to answers - did just that. After Purdy was momentarily out due to injury, he returned and connected with Christian McCaffrey to extend San Francisco's lead with under two minutes remaining. 

SF 21, AZ 13

The Cardinals nearly though they scored a touchdown on their punt back to SF before official replay ruled the 49ers return man was down by contact before fumbling.

Purdy and co. retained possession looking to extend their lead but were unable to make anything, heading into the locker room after a failed Hail Mary attempt.

The 49ers will get the ball to begin the third quarter. 

First Quarter

The 49ers won the toss and deferred until the second half, allowing Kyler Murray and co. to take over first. 

The Cardinals wasted no time moving down the field, mostly thanks to a 38-yard reception from Trey McBride to put Arizona in scoring position before James Conner punched it in for the first score of the day.

AZ 7, SF 0 

The 49ers' offense replied with their own scoring drive to open the game, with Brock Purdy finding Deebo Samuel for an easy touchdown to knot things up. 

AZ 7, SF 7

Looking to take the lead and forced with a fourth-and-short near midfield, the Cardinals decided to gamble and go for it. 

That turned out to be the wrong decision. 

Murray's pass intended for McBride was jumped by Charvarius Ward and taken back to the house for a 66-yard interception to push San Francisco into the lead.

SF 14, AZ 7

PRE-GAME

The Arizona Cardinals approach this matchup as massive underdogs to the San Francisco 49ers, as Kyle Shanahan's squad hold the largest spread of Week 15 at 12.5 points. 

The Cardinals are winners of just three games thus far, though they've captured two wins in four weeks with quarterback Kyler Murray back at the helm. 

"I would tell you first off, do not look at their record. These guys are pretty good. I commend the whole coaching staff and how they’ve gotten these guys prepared each week and ready to play. You look at that talent level across the board, [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler [Murray] is back and we know he's a big play ready to happen at any moment," said 49ers DC Steve Wilks. "... So, I've told the guys all week, we're going to have to go earn this one."

The Cardinals have also been complimentary of San Francisco.

"They put themselves in a position to have a chance to play meaningful football in late January so by that standard, yeah, that’s what you’re looking for. You want to be playing meaningful games in January and you want to earn the right to play more games than 17. Obviously since (49ers General Manger) John (Lynch) and (49ers Head Coach) Kyle (Shanahan) have been there they’ve built it the right way," said Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. 

"They had a couple of down years just to start, but then they got it going and they’re a really good football team. Their record shows it. When you watch the tape, all three phases jump out to you. They’ve got good players, they’re well coached and they win games so that’s what everybody in the NFL is trying to do.”

Kickoff is at 2:05 PM

More reading material:

Brock Purdy Has Cardinals' Full Attention

Kyler Murray On Cardinals Future: 'It's On Me'

Published
Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin is the Publisher for Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns On SI. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with the company since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!

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