49ers 23 - CARDS 7.
The Setup
The Bottom Line
The Lede
Game Recap
Game Stats
Bright Spots
The Dark Side
Last Word

The Setup
"When we've faced the Niners during the past decade, they've usually been dawgs - granted, dangerous underdogs in our division, but games we figured to win. This time, it was the Cards were the dawgs.

The previous week,  8 & 1 Niners ended up on the winning end of a see-saw 27 - 20 contest vs. the Giants in SF. They are fast becoming heralded as one of the NFL's new darlings (& appear to have deserved it). They hosted the Cardinals at home. The Cardinals were coming off their second straight come-from-behind win - the most recent one on the road in Philly. They were forced to go with backup QB John Skelton (who was still learning how to play QB in the NFL but still playing just well enough to win). He seemed to get better with each successive snap, but what remained to be seen was how far he still had to go playing behind a practically non-existent offensive line. Niners were heavily favored at home; but so then were the Eagles (who were +13 over the Cards in Philly)."

The Bottom Line:
The way Harbaugh beats you is that his team plays sound, conservative, mistake-free football and wins the war of attrition by forcing you to "beat yourself."  Cardinal coaches couldn't have come up with a lousier game plan - beating themselves with 5 turnovers, 2 sacks allowed and a 15:00 to 45:00 time of possession deficit. Perfect prescription for a loss. SF chalked up 9 points on three first half field goals and tacked on two TD's (once coming off one of the Cardinal turnovers) to accumulate 23 points which - in light of the amemic nature of the Cardinal offense - was plenty enough to earn a win.

1st Quarter

• SF "deferred." Touchback. Cards went 3 & out. Punt downed at the SF 19. A 38-yard completion to Crabtree (over Peterson) helped move the Niners to the Cardinal 28 in 9 plays where the drive stalled. FG attempt was blocked by Campbell. Cards took over on their own 46. On the second play from scrimmage, Skelton was picked off by Willis. Niner ball on the AZ 38. We held them to 3 & out - Akers' 49-yard FG attempt was wide right. we took over on our 39 but went 3 & out. Niners took over on their own 37 and reached the Cardinal 4 in plays. This time, Akers' 22 -yard FG was good.    Niners 3 - Cards 0.

• Touchback again on the KO. Wells coughed up the ball on the first play from scrimmage.  Niner ball on the Cardinal 26. They went nowhere, but Akers was good from 43.  Niners 6 - Cards 0.

• KO returned to the Cardinal 23. Skelton was sacked on the third play to end the quarter. Keith injured.. 1st Quarter Score: Niners 6 - Cards 0.

2nd Quarter

• We completed a 3 & out. Niners started from their own 39. They methodically moved to the Cardinal 12 in 10 plays. On the 11th play, Akers' 30-yard FG attempt was blocked again. Starting from their own 20, the Cards actually picked up a first down, but eventually punted. Niners started at their own 14. They reached the Cardinal 11 on 12 plays. On the 13th play, Akers was good from 29   Niners 9 - Cards 0.

• 0:56 left.  LSH returned the KO to the Cardinal 20. Skelton picked up one first down before the drive ffzzled and the clock ran out.  Halftime Score: Niners 9 - Cards 0.

3rd Quarter

• 49ers returned the opening KO to their own 16. A 29-yard catch and run by Crabtree served to illustrate significant Cardinal problems throughout the contest. Not only did A-Dub and Johnson miss Crabtree twice in the open field, but Peterson actually whiffed twice! (He missed the first tackle, got up and pursued a second time only to miss again when Crabtree zigged back in Petey-Pat's direction). This time Alex Smith led his team on a 13 play drive capped by an 8-yard TD connection with Willians (Ed Note - To my uneducated eyes viewing the TV screen, it looked to me as though Williams dropped the ball, yet the play was never reviewed. What gave)?  Niners 16 - Cards 0. 

• KO. returned to the Card 22. Two plays later, Skelton threw deep and hooked up with Niner "center fielder" Daunte Whitner who returned the pick to the Cardinal 37. Four plays later, he hit Vern Davis for an 18-yard score.  Niners 23 - Cards 0.     

• Touchback on the KO. Five plays later, (after he hit Roberts for +45), Skelton's pass intended for Fitz was picked off. (Do I sense a pattern here)? We held Niners to 3 & out, but Peterson fumbled the return. Niner ball on the Cardinal 31. An interference call on Peterson helped move the ball to the Cardinal 7 as the quarter ended.  3rd Quarter Score: Niners 23 - Cards 0.

4th Quarter

Bright Spots

• Two blocked FG's and a third try thwarted.

• Red zone defense was generally pretty stingy.

• At least Bartell looked like he knew what he was doing, completed half his passes and came away with one TD toss.

• That's about it.

The Dark Side

• Five giveaways. 2 sacks (vs. 2 takeaways and no sacks).

• When you have poor pass pro, the time-window for avoiding error is extremely narrow.

• Within that context: (1) Skelton seemed to have no clue where his secondary receiving options existed on the field, (2) our receivers seemed to be rounding off their routes instead of cutting sharply and (3) our receivers didn't seem to be trying very hard to break off or extend their routes to help out their QB on broken plays.

• Tackling by  our LB's and DB's was atrocious.

• Dan Williams' arm.

• Aside from the blatant game-shaping factors (i.e. giveaways, poor Cardinal pass pro, good Cardinal red zone defense and Akers' struggles) - when you match up our offense vs. the SF offense, they're significantly better than we are in both the passing and running game. (Note - defensively, they may have an edge, but not by as much as the pundits may think).

Last Word:
As expected, it was a "definition game." While "on any given Sunday", the Cards can give SF a run for its money, (a) the Niners have a better run offense, a better run defense and make fewer mistakes. Skelton certainly exposed himself by completing fewer than 1/3 of his passes and failing to protect the ball. (The QB Controversy is offically over). Bartels didn't play all that badly. Expect Wiz to employ a "hottest hand" QB strategy for the duration of the season.