This is the San Francisco 49ers’ season through five weeks: Even the kicker suffered an injury, and it probably cost them a game.
The 49ers had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter on Sunday and everything seemed fine, but then there was an implosion. The Arizona Cardinals outscored the 49ers 11-0 in the fourth quarter and pulled off a stunning 24-23 upset.
The 49ers lost kicker Jake Moody to an injury as he attempted to make a tackle in the first half, and that caused them to go for it on fourth-and-23 in the fourth quarter instead of trying a 45-yard field goal. San Francisco didn’t get the first down there, and not feeling comfortable trying the field goal was costly in the end.
That wasn’t the reason the 49ers lost, but it didn’t help. And with the loss, the 49ers find themselves in a 2-3 hole to start the season. That’s not what anyone expected from one of this season’s Super Bowl favorites.
49ers off to a slow start this season
The 49ers have dealt with numerous injuries this season, including to running back Christian McCaffrey who hasn’t played this season.
Jordan Mason has been a very good replacement but he had a critical error Sunday. With the 49ers inside the red zone, leading 23-21, Mason had the ball punched out on first-and-goal and the Cardinals recovered. Up until that point it seemed the 49ers would find a way to win. When Arizona took possession, the idea of an upset loss for the 49ers began.
The Cardinals drove downfield after that, eating up the clock. Kyler Murray completed a desperation pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. on fourth-and-5 to keep the drive alive. The Cardinals hit a field goal with 1:37 left to take a lead. The 49ers couldn’t answer after that and the game was over.
That’s how the season is going for the 49ers. They haven’t been terrible. They just haven’t been good enough to pull out wins more often than not.
49ers lose a late lead
When Moody got injured on a second-quarter kickoff, that changed a lot of the 49ers’ decision making. They saw punter Mitch Wishnowsky hit a 26-yard field goal, but they weren’t going to try anything much longer than that. So when the Cardinals took a one-point lead with 1:37, the 49ers were in the unusual position of feeling they needed to score a touchdown to win. They couldn’t leave it up to their punter to try the game-winning field goal.
San Francisco didn’t come close. A Brock Purdy pass popped in the air as he was hit and it was picked off by Kyzir White. The 49ers didn’t even pass midfield with the game on the line.
During the fourth quarter, Fox showed the graphic that the 49ers were 38-0 in the regular season under Kyle Shanahan when they led by 10 or more points in the fourth quarter. That streak ended Sunday. The 49ers scored a TD on a blocked field goal and still couldn’t beat an Arizona team that was 1-3 coming in. Injuries or not, that’s a bad sign.
The 49ers will likely get things going. But nobody planned on them being under .500 in October.