49ers Blow Early Lead For Second Straight Week
By David Ochoa
The 49ers traveled to Arizona to take on their division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers were hoping to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss against the Chicago Bears last week. Unfortunately, the 49ers just couldn’t seem to put it together late in the game for the second consecutive week in a row and lose 23-14.
So far the story of this season has been hot first halves and cold second halves. The 49ers have only scored three points in the second half through three weeks, despite playing well in the first half.
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Colin Kaepernick threw for 245 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Kaepernick and the offense were efficient in the first half, but all but Steve Johnson, who had 100 yards receiving, sputtered out in the second.
The 49ers got off to an early start by putting the Cardinals on their heels and scoring touchdowns on two consecutive drives. They went into halftime with a 14-6 lead, as well as receiving the ball first to start the third quarter.
The 49ers proceeded to do absolutely nothing on offense for two whole quarters. The stats might look good, but they are misleading. The 49ers shot themselves in the foot over and over again in the second half.
After the Cardinals took a 20-14 lead, the 49ers responded with a good drive down to the five yard line. Stupid penalties ended up pushing them back to the 30 yard line, where eventually a Phil Dawson field goal try was blocked.
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The 49ers’ defense allowed back up quarterback Drew Stanton carve them up deep by allowing multiple deep passes to Michael Floyd and multiple touchdowns of 20+ yards to rookie wide receiver John Brown. Stanton finished the game with 244 yards and two touchdowns.
The 49ers were getting absolutely no pressure all day, and the pressure they did bring was penalized.
An unorganized, undisciplined team with no spirit will lose a tough divisional match up every time, and that’s just what happened today.