Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals was, thankfully, a win, placing the 3-0 San Francisco 49ers atop the NFC West. Some called it a "thrilling" game. Others called it "exciting."
Unless you're a fan of neither team, it was neither.
It was frustrating. It was irritating. It was exhausting.
But it was a win.
The 49ers jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the offense efficient and explosive. The Brock Purdy-pass-to-Mike Evans-lateral-to-Deebo Samuel for an 80-yard touchdown was a thing of beauty. The offense was cooking, and the defense was holding its own.
Then things began to change.
After a 49ers three-and-out and subsequent punt, the Cardinals marched 54 yards in eight minutes to kick a field goal. At least the defense held them to three points. Then after holding the Niners again (the last series was three incompletions by Purdy), the Cards got the ball again and drove 59 yards in just over a minute to kick another field goal. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, a solid journeyman, went eight for ten on the first drive and four for six on the second. That's a 75% completion rate for a player with a 62% career average.
Fortunately, San Francisco has one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he drove them into field goal range, and dependable (more on that later) kicker Eddy Piñeiro drilled a 57-yarder.
The second half began much like the first, with the Niners driving for a touchdown—but Piñeiro missed the extra point.
Then the wheels started to come off. The Cardinals answered with a touchdown drive of their own—Brissett shredding the 49ers defense on five-for-five passing.
Then, after exchanging punts ... but wait: on the Arizona punt, Siran Neal, one of the blockers, fell, the ball hit him in the leg, and then bounced right into the hands of a Cardinals player.
So instead of trying to keep the 49ers from burning the clock and potentially expanding their ten-point lead, Arizona had the ball on the Niner 28, already in field goal range. It didn't take long for them to score a touchdown and cut the lead to three.
Fortunately, the Niners have a lot of talent and answered.
But Piñeiro missed the extra point again. So instead of being up by 11, which would have required Arizona to not only score a touchdown but also succeed on a two-point conversion and then kick a field goal to tie, the Niners found themselves up by only 9, with a potential Arizona touchdown and field goal leading to a loss.
And when the Cards scored and were down by only two, it was reasonable to see this game slipping away.
But fortunately, the stars rose to the occasion. The players who get paid the big bucks showed exactly why. And when Purdy scrambled for a 45-yard touchdown with under two minutes to go, it looked like the game was over.
But a penalty negated the run, so the Niners had the ball on the Arizona 20. Still, time was on the Niners' side, and they should have been able to run out the clock. And when Purdy hit tight end George Kittle for a score, a Niner fan could breathe somewhat easier.
Fans knew that, at worst, the Niners would have to recover an onside kick to secure the victory.
And that is what happened. Rather than stopping the Cardinals, the defense gave up another field goal, which required the fielding of an onside kick.
While relief was a principal emotion, the other was concern.
There were notable problems. First was the defense. From roughly halfway through the second quarter on, the Niners did not stop Arizona except for once—and that was the series when the Niners' muffed punt gave the ball right back.
But it is difficult to be fair and say the defense was simply horrible. One stat the broadcasters showed was that the Niners were missing seven—yes, seven—defensive linemen. How well could one expect the defense to perform with only one starting D-lineman on the field at a time?
Then San Francisco's top cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir, went down with a potential concussion. Thankfully, he was cleared to return. But then, the starter on the opposite side, Renardo Green, went down with an injury, though he was also thankfully able to return.
Then linebacker Dre Greenlaw went down with a quad injury. That meant the San Francisco defense was at times playing with four to five starters out.
If that were not enough, the Niners lost their number one receiver, Mike Evans, to an apparent rib injury just before halftime and left tackle Trent Williams to a stinger later. That left San Francisco with only one starting wide receiver.
Brock Purdy's completion percentage was the worst it has been in a long time. But it was clear it was not all his fault. After the announcers stated—correctly—that the Niners' offensive line has played well this year, the offensive line did its best to prove them wrong, and after those first two drives, Purdy found himself under consistent pressure.
Statistics do not always tell the full story. While the line gave up no sacks and only three hits, that was because Purdy is one of the best in the league at evading pressure, and he is also good at getting rid of the ball quickly. But what happens when a quarterback has to run and throw, back up and throw off his back foot, or throw the ball away to avoid a sack? He doesn't complete as many passes.
Because of San Francisco's talent, they came through. But giving up 30 points to a team that scored just seven the week before against a division rival doesn't build confidence. The offensive line has to get back to the level they played in the first two games of the season.
I am not including Piñeiro in this list of concerns since he has been consistent for as long as he has been in the Bay Area, and even the best kickers have a terrible game. And I am not including the punt return unit because Neal's mishap was a freak occurrence, not a play where he made a bad decision.
But I have concerns. I believe wholeheartedly that this team is one of the best in the league, certainly a Super Bowl contender—if they are healthy. And that is one of the biggest "if"s in professional sports.
The offensive line might have looked good in the first two games of the season, but the Rams were certainly suffering from jet lag in Week 1, and the Dolphins in Week 2 are one of the worst teams in the league.
In the past, the line has performed adequately against weak or average teams, but the 49ers would have one or two more Super Bowls if they had done so against the top teams.
Next week, the Niners play the Denver Broncos, and the Seattle Seahawks the week after that. Those will be a true test, and how well the team holds up will tell us much about where the season is headed.
Buckle up and keep your fingers crossed. It is going to be a difficult stretch.
More info on: Mike Evans, Renardo Green, Dre Greenlaw, George Kittle, Deommodore Lenoir, Siran Neal, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams
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