The Cardinals didn't win on Sunday, but they found – again – another piece of what they will eventually need to earn more victories.
The 35-16 loss was headed for something much worse. All-world 49ers running back Christian McCaffery had four touchdowns and surely will leave defensive coordinator Nick Rallis scrambling to find a response the next time the teams play later this season.
Such a game could have been derailed early. It did derail the last time the teams played in Mexico last season. These are the steps this team must take.
"You're never happy after an 'L'" tackle D.J. Humphries said. "But knowing you have some guys in your foxhole that are willing to fight and scratch and claw, that's always good to know
Coach Jonathan Gannon acknowledged after the margin for error isn't great against a team like San Francisco.
On San Francisco's second possession, McCaffrey took a lateral from quarterback Brock Purdy, made a defender miss, hurdled another and raced to the end zone for an 18-yard score. Williams was standing nearby when McCaffrey made the play and immediately marched over to tell him, "Man, you're a baaaaaad boy."
McCaffrey added a 6-yard touchdown grab from Purdy and a 2-yard scoring run to set a personal best with four touchdowns in a game, tying him for second-most in franchise history in a single game. It was a performance so dominant that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James posted on X: "CMC you're ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!! MY GOODNESS."
McCaffrey continues to rack up the accolades for his stellar play in 2023. On Sunday against the Cardinals, the dual-threat back cemented himself in team history by overtaking Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice's streak of 12-consecutive games with one-or-more touchdowns from the 1987 season. That was just the start of his production in Week 4 which materialized into a four-touchdown performance. He was one score shy of matching a 49ers single-game touchdown scoring franchise record.
After Arizona’s defense effectively forced a San Francisco punt, Dobbs and the offense didn’t blink despite beginning the drive on their own one-yard line.
Needing 11 plays and a 49ers penalty, the Cardinals offense went 99 yards for another score.
The catalyst in both drives was Dobbs, who used a mix of his feet and arm before connecting with the rookie Wilson for the pair of touchdowns.
Despite a slow start Sunday, Dobbs managed to find a rhythm behind 265 passing yards and the two strikes on 28-of-41 passing. He also ran the rock a team high 12 times for 48 yards.
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