49ers at Cardinals final score: Arizona beats San Francisco 23-14 with second half surge

By Cory Buck | Sep 21, 2014

Sep 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) celebrates a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23-14 in a heated NFC West matchup that may turn the division upside down. The Cardinals are now 3-0 thanks to a win fueled by two touchdown passes from Drew Stanton to John Brown in the second half and a stifling Arizona defense that picked up its game when it mattered most.

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The Cardinals once again turned to Drew Stanton in the absence of Carson Palmer and the team hardly seemed to miss a beat. The game started with each team scoring on its first two drives, all long meticulous possessions.

The Cardinals took the first lead with a seven-play 47 yard drive that ended with a field goal. The 49ers quickly answered though with an 80-yard drive that saw Colin Kaepernick go 7-for-7 for 61 passing yards. Kaepernick found Michael Crabtree for the first touchdown of the game.

The Cardinals answered on the next drive, boldly going for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 44-yard line and converting with a Drew Stanton rush. They drove down the field and scored early in the second quarter with another field goal that capped off a 17-play drive.

The 49ers responded with a fourth down conversion of their own on the next drive in which Kaepernick extend his completion streak to nine before seeing a pass hit the ground. He was 11-for-12 by the time he handed the ball to Carlos Hyde, who ran for a six-yard touchdown and a 14-6 49ers lead with five minutes left in the second quarter.

Neither team scored on successive drives and the score held until the third quarter, when the Cardinals answered early with their first touchdown of the game, a 24-yard pass from Drew Stanton to John Brown.

The Cardinals weren’t done though. After the Arizona defense forced a San Francisco three-and-out, the offense marched back down the field, thanks in part to back-to-back 15-yard penalties assessed to the 49ers defense. Stanton found John Brown for their second touchdown of the game, this one from 21 yards out to make the score 20-14 Arizona.

The San Francisco offense finally settled down and got the ball moving after the second Brown touchdown. Kaepernick found Stevie Johnson for a 32-yard gain that put the Niners in the red zone. Johnson finished the game with over 100 receiving yards.

The 49ers were stopped and forced to settle for a field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, which was blocked by Tommy Kelly and downed at midfield.

Drew Stanton once again strung together timely completions to go with a few strong runs from RB Andre Ellington. The teams exchanged penalties, but the 49ers defense was once again called for a 15-yard penalty that set up the Cardinals inside the San Francisco ten-yard line.

It appeared the Cardinals would be assured of at least a crucial three points to add to their lead when the 49ers recovered a Larry Fitzgerald fumble on a four-yard reception, giving San Francisco life from inside their own ten yard line.

The Arizona defense held strong though and kept the 49ers pinned in their own end, forcing a punt to the Cardinals with four minutes left in regulation and great field position.

A big third-down defensive pass interference call on Chris Cook put the Cardinals back near field goal range. An 11-yard Andre Ellington run helped move the Cards into the red zone at the two-minute warning, where this time the 49ers defense could do little to stop the Cardinals from milking the clock and all 49ers timeouts before kicking a field goal to seal the game for Arizona.

The game was defined by Arizona’s continued offensive success against the San Francisco defense along with Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense being unable to keep up their success from the first half into the second. The Cardinals sent a message to the rest of the league on Sunday that they’ve had enough of being an afterthought in the toughest division in the NFL. They want to get in on the fun and now they have a chance to back up their play and make some serious noise in the NFC.

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