The San Francisco 49ers continue to remain winless, dropping to 0-9 on Sunday. They lost to the Arizona Cardinals by a final score of 20-10. After early struggles, the 49ers actually had this thing close, trailing 14-10 with the ball. They couldn’t get the offense going late in the game. Well, the offense did get going in the late-game fight after a late hit on C.J. Beathard, but that’s about.
The 49ers losing is not a new story. The story of this game was all the injuries. The 49ers lost five players over the course of the game. That included safety Jaquiski Tartt (wrist), wide receiver Trent Taylor (ribs), linebacker Elijah Lee (knee), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (neck), and tight end Cole Hikutini (knee). Reuben Foster left at one point with a lower leg injury, but quickly returned. The 49ers bye week can’t come soon enough.
On the offensive side of the ball, the story of the game was as much about the beating C.J. Beathard took. He was hit regularly all day long, and it was capped by Antoine Bethea’s shot to the face in the fourth quarter. Carlos Hyde, Frostee Rucker, and Haason Reddick were all ejected as the 49ers jumped to the defense of their quarterback.
On the defensive side of the ball, it was not pretty at times. Adrian Peterson was the MVP of this game, rushing for 159 yards on 37 carries. It was a career high in carries as Arizona rode him to victory. It was a workman-like effort averaging 4.2 yards per carry, but it got the job done.
The 49ers highly on defense was Reuben Foster. He had the brief injury absence, but returned and finished the game with 13 total tackles. Injury concerns remain a regular frustration, but when Foster is on the field, he’s one of their biggest playmakers. He can pounce on ball carriers, drop in coverage, and generally do just about whatever they need. Now, he just needs to stay healthy.
Up next: vs. New York Giants (1-7)
This will be the biggest game for draft purposes next week. The winless 49ers remain tied with the Cleveland Browns (well, technically half a game ahead), and have a full game on the Giants. If they end up tied, the tiebreaker is strength of schedule, not head-to-head. But the Tank Bowl will certainly be something to watch. Well, maybe it’ll be best to just check Niners Nation after the game for the results.