Cardinals stun turnover-plagued 49ers 24-23 after second-half comeback

On a scorching hot day at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara where temperatures approached 100 degrees, the San Francisco 49ers looked like they were well on their way towards beating the heat and the Arizona Cardinals, who came out of halftime on the opposite end of a 23-10 49ers lead. But with the help of three second-half takeaways and an injury to 49ers kicker Jake Moody, the Cardinals were able to hold the 49ers scoreless in the second half while rallying to shock the 49ers at home with a 24-23 victory.

After multiple highlight plays helped the 49ers to their halftime lead, they ended their second-half drives with two interceptions from Brock Purdy, a fumble by running back Jordan Mason, and a turnover on downs that came about after Moody left the game with an ankle injury and left the 49ers without anyone they felt capable of kicking a long field goal. The Cardinals were able to rally behind quarterback Kyler Murray who finished with 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 19-of-30 passing and 86 yards on 19 carries.

Purdy finished with 244 yards on 19-of-35 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had his best game of the season so far for the 49ers, catching eight passes for 147 yards.

First Half

Things couldn't have started much worse for the 49ers, who began the game with a three-and-out, during which leading receiver Jauan Jennings left the game due to a hand injury (Jennings would later return). Then, after starting at their own 28-yard line following the punt, the Cardinals needed just 47 seconds and two plays to take a 7-0 lead when Murray followed up a 22-yard pass to tight end Trey McBride with a career-long touchdown run of 50 yards.

The 49ers answered the touchdown with a splash play of their own when Purdy connected with Aiyuk for a 53-yard gain on the first play of the ensuing possession. But the 49ers were unable to find the end zone from there and settled for a 28-yard field goal from Moody to cut the Cardinals' lead to 7-3.

After a three-and-out from the Cardinals, the 49ers took over at their own 24-yard line and built on their momentum with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended in a touchdown completion from Purdy to tight end George Kittle. Purdy completed three more passes to Aiyuk on the drive, while Jennings added a 13-yard catch as well before Purdy found Kittle from four yards out to take a 10-7 lead.

The two teams traded long field goal drives from there, as the Cardinals went on a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended in a 30-yard field goal from kicker Chad Ryland, followed by an 11-play, 68-yard drive from the 49ers that fizzled inside the 10-yard line and ended with a 20-yard field goal from Moody to put the score at 13-10. The Cardinals then moved into 49ers territory with a five-play, 43-yard drive and were in a position to tie the game when Ryland lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt with just under five minutes left in the half. But then the 49ers pulled off their biggest special teams splash of the season so far -- a picture-perfect blocked field goal for a touchdown that extended the 49ers' lead to 20-10. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott reached his arm up at the line for the block, which sent the ball into flying into the hands of cornerback Deommodore Lenore, who ran 61 yards untouched into the end zone.

Moody suffered his injury while trying to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, but it looked for a while like it might not come back to haunt the 49ers, who continued to come up with highlight plays. This time it was defensive end Nick Bosa's turn, who put a stop to the next Cardinals drive with an interception that gave the 49ers the ball in Cardinals territory with less than two minutes left in the half. The Cardinals faced a 2nd-and-6 from the 49ers' 24-yard line when a Murray pass intended for running back James Conner was picked off by a leaping Bosa, who then rumbled 30 yards downfield to give the 49ers the ball at the Cardinals' 40-yard line.

The 49ers advanced into a 1st-and-Goal situation after the interception but were forced to settle for a field goal after failing to get the ball across the goal line. The injury to Moody on the previous kickoff meant punter Mitch Wishnowsky had to attempt the field goal, but Wishnowsky was able to deliver from 26 yards out as time expired in the half to send the 49ers to the locker room with a 23-10 lead.

There was plenty of offensive production from both teams in the first half, as the 49ers put up 249 total yards to 206 from the Cardinals. Murray accounted for much of the Cardinals' yardage with 131 yards in the air and 66 on the ground, while Purdy finished the half with 165 yards on 12-of-23 passing.

Second Half

The Cardinals opened the second half with a three-and-out, then came up with their first takeaway of the game when defensive tackle Roy Lopez tipped a Purdy pass into the hands of linebacker Mack Wilson for an interception. The Cardinals took over at the 49ers' 25-yard line but were stifled from there by the 49ers defense and settled for a 42-yard field goal from Ryland to cut the 49ers' lead to 23-13.

The 49ers went on an 11-play, 43-yard drive on the next possession but felt the absence of Moody when they moved inside the Cardinals' 30 and were forced to go for a first down on a 4th-and-23 from the 27-yard line. The 49ers turned the ball over on downs, and the Cardinals took over with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Cardinals then went on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard pass from Murray to tight end Elijah Higgins for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown moved the Cardinals to within two points at 23-21.

The 49ers appeared well on their way toward answering the touchdown with one of their own as they moved inside the Cardinals' 10-yard line on the next drive in seven plays, one of them a 20-yard run from running back Jordan Mason that included a bruising stiff arm on defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting. But the Cardinals wound up getting Mason back inside the 10 when linebacker Jesse Luketa forced a Mason fumble that was recovered by Wilson at the 9-yard line with just over six minutes to play.

The Cardinals turned the fumble into a 14-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal from Ryland to take a 24-23 lead with 1:37 left to play. The Cardinals faced a 4th-and-5 early in the drive when Murray made a game-saving 14-yard completion under pressure to wide receiver Marvin Harrison, then a series of runs from Conner and Murray put the Cardinals into field goal range.

After a 27-yard return from Isaac Guerendo, the 49ers took over at their own 27-yard line with no timeouts and 1:32 left to play. Any hopes they had quickly came to an end, however, as after a 15-yard completion to Kittle to start the drive, Purdy floated a pass under pressure and was picked off at midfield by linebacker Kyzir White, after which the Cardinals were able to run out the clock and seal the win.

The Cardinals moved to 2-3 with the win, while the 49ers fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss.

Game Notes: Sunday's temperatures made the game against the 49ers and Cardinals the hottest in Levi's Stadium history... The 49ers entered Sunday's game as 7.5-point favorites over the Cardinals... Three milestones took place in the first half for the 49ers as Purdy became the fastest quarterback in franchise history to reach 50 career touchdown passes, while Deebo Samuel reached 300 career receptions and Jennings reached 100 career receptions...The 49ers now have an all-time mark of 36-30 against the Cardinals and have won five consecutive games in the series... In addition to Moody, the 49ers lost safety Talanoa Hufanga during Sunday's game due to a wrist injury... Next up for the 49ers is a Thursday night game against the NFC West-leading Seahawks (3-2) at Lumen Field in Seattle. Kickoff will be at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET) on Thursday (Telecast: Prime Video).

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