Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes, two apiece to Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, and the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 45-29 in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday afternoon.
Purdy completed 16 of 25 passes for 242 yards as the Niners (11-3), who have won six straight, remained atop the NFC standings and clinched the West title.
McCaffrey added a 1-yard scoring run and finished with 187 total yards. He ran for 115 yards on 18 carries and made five catches for 72 yards.
His first scoring catch covered 5 yards as the Niners extended their lead to 21-13 late in the second quarter. The other, which went for 41 yards, came early in the third, and he was so open that he fell after making the catch but still had time to get up to run the final 10 yards.
James Conner ran for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals (3-11), who were coming off a bye week. Emari Demercado had a 49-yard touchdown burst for Arizona early in the fourth quarter.
Kyler Murray went 26 of 39 passing for 211 yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins in the final minute. Murray was picked off twice, giving him four interceptions this season vs. four touchdowns.
Arizona tight end Trey McBride made 10 catches for 102 yards. Another tight end, Geoff Swaim, left on a cart with a right calf injury in the second quarter and did not return.
Arizona amassed 436 yards to 406 for San Francisco.
The 49ers led 14-13 with 6:14 left in the first half before going on an eventful 10-play, 75-yard drive. Purdy missed three plays during the sequence with a shoulder injury, but he returned to hit McCaffrey for the 5-yard score with 1:14 left before the break.
The teams traded 75-yard touchdown drives to open the game. The Cardinals capped theirs with Conner’s 2-yard run, and Samuel caught a 12-yard strike from Purdy to tie the game at 7-7.
The Cardinals moved into Niners territory on their next possession but faced fourth-and-3 at the 42-yard line. Charvarius Ward stepped in front of a Murray pass over the middle and brought it back 66 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. He picked off Murray again in the fourth quarter.
Matt Prater kicked field goals of 58 and 43 yards to get the Cardinals within 14-13. He later added a 28-yarder.
–Field Level Media
