Cardinals vs 49ers looked finished by the middle of the third quarter. San Francisco led 23-6 at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, September 27, after opening the scoring with a hook and ladder. Then Arizona scored three second half touchdowns and got within two. Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes, two of them to George Kittle, and Deebo Samuel recovered a late onside kick as the 49ers held on 36-30.
San Francisco are 3-0 and alone at the top of the NFC West. It’s their third 3-0 start in the last four seasons, ESPN’s recap noted. Arizona drop to 1-2.
The trick play that opened Cardinals vs 49ers
On just the third snap of the game, facing third and 12, Kyle Shanahan called a hook and ladder. Purdy threw a short pass to Mike Evans, who flipped the ball back to Samuel. Samuel sprinted down the sideline, slipped past the last defender near midfield and finished an 82-yard touchdown.
Evans added a 23-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead, but he left in the first half with a rib injury. Arizona kicker Chad Ryland hit field goals from 26 and 41 yards before Eddy Pineiro answered from 57 yards at the end of the half to make it 17-6.
Hook and ladder, explained
A hook and ladder is a two part trick play. A receiver runs a short route and catches the ball (the “hook”), then immediately laterals it backwards to a teammate running past him at speed (the “ladder”). Because a backward pass is legal anywhere on the field, the defense suddenly has to chase a player who already has momentum. It’s risky, since a dropped lateral is a live ball, which is why teams rarely try it on third and long.
How Arizona got back into it
Christian McCaffrey’s 1-yard run made it 23-6 early in the third quarter, but the extra point was missed. From there Jacoby Brissett took over. He hit Michael Wilson for a 5-yard touchdown, then found running back Jeremiyah Love from a yard out early in the fourth to make it 23-20.
Purdy answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kittle, but that extra point also missed, leaving the score at 29-20. Brissett then sneaked in from a yard out to cut it to 29-27. With 1:31 left, Purdy found Kittle again from 20 yards to make it 36-27. Ryland’s 49-yard field goal pulled Arizona within six, but Samuel recovered the onside kick to seal it.
Those two missed extra points kept Arizona alive. Had both been good, the Cardinals would have trailed 38-30 after Ryland’s late kick and needed a touchdown plus a two point conversion just to tie. Instead, one touchdown would have won it, which is why that onside kick recovery was so big.
Key numbers
| Player | Line |
|---|---|
| Brock Purdy, SF | 15 of 27, 297 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT |
| Jacoby Brissett, ARI | 38 of 52, 280 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1 rushing TD |
| Christian McCaffrey, SF | 15 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD |
| George Kittle, SF | 6 catches, 82 yards, 2 TD |
Scoring summary
| Quarter | Play | Score (ARI v SF) |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Purdy pass to Evans, lateral to Samuel, 82 yards | 0-7 |
| Q2 | Purdy 23-yard TD pass to Evans | 0-14 |
| Q2 | Ryland 26-yard field goal | 3-14 |
| Q2 | Ryland 41-yard field goal | 6-14 |
| Q2 | Pineiro 57-yard field goal | 6-17 |
| Q3 | McCaffrey 1-yard run (PAT missed) | 6-23 |
| Q3 | Brissett 5-yard TD pass to Michael Wilson | 13-23 |
| Q4 | Brissett 1-yard TD pass to Jeremiyah Love | 20-23 |
| Q4 | Purdy 10-yard TD pass to Kittle (PAT missed) | 20-29 |
| Q4 | Brissett 1-yard run | 27-29 |
| Q4 | Purdy 20-yard TD pass to Kittle | 27-36 |
| Q4 | Ryland 49-yard field goal | 30-36 |
Scoring plays and stat lines match the CBS Sports gametracker and 49ers Webzone’s recap.
A banged up 49ers roster
San Francisco won this one short handed. Nick Bosa had already been ruled out with a calf strain, as we reported in our Nick Bosa injury update. During the game Evans went off with a rib injury and left tackle Trent Williams left in the second half and didn’t return (ESPN described it as a stinger). Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was also hurt in the second half, ESPN reported.
“It’s the NFL, it sucks when your teammates go down, but that’s part of the game,” Purdy said afterwards, according to ESPN.
What’s next
The 49ers host the Denver Broncos at 4:25pm ET on Sunday, October 4. The Cardinals visit the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium at 1pm ET the same day.
