3 quick takeaways from the 49ers 24-23 loss to the Cardinals

The San Francisco 49ers had yet another ugly loss early in the season, dropping a 24-23 contest to the Arizona Cardinals to fall to 2-3 on the year and 0-2 in the division.

As they’ve done all season, the 49ers got out to a major lead, going up 23-10 entering the half, while holding a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. But, once again, the 49ers failed to finish, as Arizona scored 11 points in the final frame, getting the 24-23 comeback win.

Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 24-23 loss to the Cardinals in Week 5.

Red zone struggles

This part of the column feels like a rinse and repeat.

Red zone issues have plagued the 49ers all season long, as San Francisco entered the game with the 20th-best offense inside the 20-yard line, scoring touchdowns on just 50 percent of their drives in 2024. Remember, the 49ers led the NFL in the red zone a season ago with a 68 percent touchdown rate.

Well, those issues reached their worst heights on Saturday, as the 49ers went just 1/6 in the red zone, recording a touchdown, three field goals, a fumble, and a turnover on downs on their six opportunities. That’s just inexcusable.

Even worse, San Francisco got inside the 10-yard line four times on the day, scoring a touchdown just once, as Kyle Shanahan elected to kick two field goals, while Jordan Mason fumbled inside the 10 as well in an ugly offensive day for the 49ers.

Now, Jake Moody’s injury proved to be a killer for the 49ers, as they had a turnover on downs that could’ve changed the course of the game due to the lack of a kicker, but the failure to score touchdowns is a significant issue that San Francisco has yet to find a solution for this year.

It’s clear that the 49ers are struggling without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was the NFL’s leader in touches in the red zone in 2023, and created a number of opportunities in space for San Francisco, be it in the run game or the passing game that allowed for such a high success rate last year.

San Francisco has really struggled to run the football down in the red zone, with defenses honing in on the ground game, resulting in a lack of space for Jordan Mason to operate.

But, with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and Jauan Jennings at your disposal, there should be zero excuses for the lack of scoring inside the 20-yard line, and that was the biggest reason for San Francisco’s loss on Sunday.

Kyle Shanahan has a big problem on his hands. And he needs a solution for it fast.

Offense sputters

Seeing that Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders were able to score 42 points on the Arizona Cardinals defense last weekend, it seemed like a favorable matchup for the 49ers offense on Sunday.

The Commanders ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns on nearly six yards per carry a week ago against Arizona, creating a formula for success against the Cardinals, who ranked in the bottom 10 in yards per game allowed and had the fourth-worst scoring defense entering Week 5.

However, the 49ers managed just 16 offensive points on Sunday, as they were helped by a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown, and were fully shut out in the second half.

Looking back at the first half, the red zone struggles made this game much closer than it should’ve been, as San Francisco kicked three field goals, despite getting inside the Arizona 10-yard line on all three occasions.

Still, they led 23-10 entering the half and had a big opportunity to put the game away in the second half. Here’s how their four drives went:

Drive No. 1: Interception

Drive No. 2: Turnover on Downs

Drive No. 3: Fumble

Drive No. 4: Interception

Just ugly all around. Brock Purdy’s first interception led to Arizona’s first points of the half, cutting the lead to 10.

Then, driving down the field with a chance to score seven, Purdy took an ill-advised sack on 2nd & 14 after a false start, putting the 49ers far back to deal with an eventual 4th & 23 that led to a turnover on downs, thanks to the lack of a kicker.

San Francisco drove down yet again on the ensuing drive, but Jordan Mason, looking to gain additional yards on a rush attempt, fumbled inside the Arizona 10-yard line, allowing the Cardinals to swing the momentum in their favor and set up the go-ahead field goal drive.

Then, with the game on the line and a chance for a comeback, Brock Purdy got drilled by a well-timed blitz, resulting in his second interception.

An offense that creates explosives at such a high rate cannot be scoring 16 points against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Credit to head coach Jonathan Gannon for a good gameplan against San Francisco, but this was an awful performance by the 49ers, especially in the second half on the offensive side of the ball.

Run Defense

The 49ers run defense was nearly stout to begin the game, which was a big key as Arizona had thrived on the ground to begin the season with a strong start from lead back James Conner.

However, they were gashed on the opening drive by a 50-yard Kyler Murray touchdown where DeVondre Campbell seemed to make a poor decision at the line of scrimmage, leading to a huge hole for the quarterback to take off for the score.

Now, San Francisco was able to contain James Conner, which helped them get out to a 23-10 halftime lead.

But, as the fourth quarter came along, the defense looked fatigued in the 100-degree heat and Conner began to gash the 49ers with good run after good run. That ultimately helped Arizona put together their final two scoring drives, changing the landscape of the game, as Conner finished with 86 yards on 19 carries.

Conner got a combined 13 touches on the two scoring drives, including the first four touches of the second drive, resulting in a pair of first downs.

The 49ers run defense had some good plays for a good portion of this game, but they ultimately struggled down the stretch when it mattered, as Arizona exposed an issue on that side of the ball.

Ultimately, San Francisco failed when it came to playing complementary football and they’ll drop to 2-3 as a result. Now, it’s on to a short week against the Seattle Seahawks, where the 49ers will look to notch their first conference win of the season.

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