Santa Clara – It wasn’t pretty, but the San Francisco Niners found a way to stay unbeaten. Newly acquired kicker Eddy Pineiro nailed a 35-yard field goal in the final seconds to lift the Niners to a 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, giving the 49ers its third straight win to open the season.
The road to victory was anything but smooth. With just over three minutes left, quarterback Mac Jones was dropped in the end zone by linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. A holding penalty on guard Dominick Puni made matters worse, resulting in a safety that swung the game in Arizona’s favor, 15-13. Momentum seemed to belong to the Cardinals, until Jones and his offense responded with their most important drive of the day.
“They’re the only reason we were in it to be honest,” said Jones on the defense. “They kept making plays and getting the ball back, really an explosive offense and explosive quarterback in [Arizona Cardinals QB] Kyler Murray. They did a great job and [LB] Fred [Warner] and everybody just having a plan and executing the plan. So I’m really thankful to have that. And as a quarterback, when you know that in the back of your head, you know you have a chance. When you don’t, it’s hard because you sometimes they press and stuff, but they did a good job.”
Jones calmly marched his unit downfield, connecting with Kendrick Bourne for a 7 and 11 yards and finding Christian McCaffrey for a 20-yard gain. The drive stalled just outside the red zone, but it was enough to put Pineiro in position for the game-winning kick. The veteran delivered, splitting the uprights with under 30 seconds to play.
McCaffrey finished with 17 rushes for 52 yards and adding 10 receptions for 88 yards. His 88 receiving yards are his most in a single game as a 49er and the most since Week 6 of the 2022 season, when he recorded 89 yards as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
With 140 total yards from scrimmage, McCaffrey notched his 60th career game with 100-plus scrimmage yards, including his 23rd since joining the 49ers. He also became the first NFL player to reach that milestone since Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk in 2000. McCaffrey’s 60 games of 100 or more yards from scrimmage now tie him for the most among active running backs.
Jones finished 27-of-41 for 284 yards and one touchdown, his fourth of the season and the 58th of his career. That score came in the third quarter on a one-yard strike to Kyle Juszczyk, which briefly put San Francisco ahead 13-6 before Kyler Murray answered with a quick four-play drive capped by a touchdown pass to Trey McBride.
Juszczyk hauled in a 1-yard touchdown reception, his first of the season and the 19th of his career. Pearsall recorded 8 receptions for a team-high 117 yards, marking his second game of the season and third of his career with 100 or more receiving yards.
“Mac did a great job,” Juszcyk said. “He did a great job in the huddle, commanding the troops. Great job getting in and out. He led the game-winning drive, and he was decisive out there. He had a little bit of pressure at times, but he steps into his throws, is confident, and does his thing. So I have all the faith in the world in him.”
San Francisco’s defense was relentless throughout, holding Murray and the Cardinals’ offense in check for much of the afternoon. Defensive end Bryan Huff set the tone in the second quarter, batting down a Murray pass intended for Trey Benson that derailed Arizona’s drive and led to a missed 57-yard field goal by kicker Chad Ryland. Still, Ryland later connected on field goals from 34 and 28 yards to keep the Cardinals close.
Defensive lineman Bryce Huff registered 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.0 sack of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. His pass defensed marked his first of the season and the fourth of his career, while the sack marked his second of the season and gave him 22.0 for his career.
Linebacker Fred Warner led the defense with a team-high 11 tackles and added 2 passes defensed. Warner now has 3 PDs on the season and 56 in his career, extending his franchise record for most PDs by a linebacker since the statistic became official in 1994.
Defensive lineman Nick Bosa finished with 2 tackles and 1 forced fumble. The play marked his second FF of the season and the 13th of his career, tying him for the third-most by a 49ers player since 1994. Bosa exited the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return.
“No, we can’t rule anything out,” said Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan on Bosa’s injury. “I mean, they check for ACL and stuff there. It was good with that, but we’re still not sure. So, we’ve got to check with more thorough things here tonight and tomorrow.”
“Yes, super gritty. Great win,” Warner said. Before I answer your question first, I want to say, my prayers are with guys who went down in the game, obviously on their side. I think [Arizona Cardinals RB] James Conner went down and then hoping the best for [DL] Nick [Bosa] and seeing what that news is. But yes, I think it just speaks to how gritty our team is. We got a team full of fighters who are willing to go the distance all four quarters and some if we need it. We are calling on a lot of guys who probably didn’t know that they were going to be needed as much as they have been. Just extremely proud of the group and finding ways to win and we’ll just continue to try to get better and keep finding ways to win.”
Pineiro, meanwhile, was steady all day, hitting from 38, 51, and 35 yards, with his final kick proving decisive.
The win keeps the 49ers perfect on the season as they continue to show resilience in close games. Next week, San Francisco will look to carry that momentum when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Photo by 49ers/Twitter
