The Arizona Cardinals traveled to Santa Clara, Cali on Sunday afternoon to face the San Francisco 49ers in their season opener. San Francisco was favored to win the game,. However, standout receiver Deebo Samuel was placed on the injured reserve list this week with a foot injury and his absence was notable. The 49ers were also missing Brandon Aiyuk, Ben Farland, and Jason Verrett. The offense couldn’t overcome the deficits and the Cardinals defeated the home team, 24-20.
San Francisco began the game with possession of the ball and finished the opening drive with a 52-yard field goal by Robbie Gould. In the next drive, Jimmy Garroppolo threw a career-long 76-yard touchdown pass to Raheem Mostert and the 49ers took the lead, 10-0.
The Cardinals were unable to convert their first two drives into any points on the board. Their first big move of the day came when Ezekiel Turner blocked a punt and Dennis Gardeck recovered it at the San Francisco 15 yard line. In the following drive, Arizona got on the board when Kyler Murray connected with Chase Edmonds for a 10-yard pass and a touchdown.
The scoreboard read 10-7 with 7:03 left in the first quarter and would remain the same to finish out the quarter.
Arizona missed the opportunity to score first in the second quarter when Zane Gonzalez missed the posts in a 52-yard field goal attempt. Their next possession ended early when a pass intended for Max Williams was intercepted by Jaquiski Tartt giving the ball back to the 49ers.
The 49ers converted the interception to a field goal and extended their lead to 13-7. The Cardinals came back in the next drive and put a field goal on the board. This closed the lead to three points with just 30 seconds left in the first half.
The Cardinals had possession to begin the second half. Unfortunately, Gonzalez again missed the field goal attempt, this time for 49 yards. Neither team put any points on the board in the third quarter.
Arizona scored first in the final quarter when Murray rushed the ball for a 22-yard touchdown score and took the lead, 20-17. San Francisco answered with a touchdown of their own in the next drive and again took a three-point lead over the Cardinals.
966 days.@JetMckinnon1 scores his first touchdown in the red & gold 🙏
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 13, 2020
#AZvsSF on FOX pic.twitter.com/2PaLMQazkI
The Cardinals sealed their victory in the following drive when Kenyan Drake rushed the ball for a one-yard touchdown. The 49ers were unable to convert their last drive into any points and the Cardinals took the four-point victory, 24-20.
https://twitter.com/AZCardinals/status/1305295110804922368?s=20
The Cardinals will meet up with the Washington Football team next week while San Francisco faces the New York Jets.
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