Recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
Ken Dorsey threw three touchdown passes and Maurice Hicks ran for 139 yards and a touchdown and the 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-28 at Candlestick Park. Cedrick Wilson caught five for 83 with two touchdowns. Josh McCown threw for 307 yards. Emmitt Smith ran for 53 with a touchdown. The 49ers improved to 2-11 in the kind of division home win where the year's identity tape produced its second NFL victory.[1][2][3]
Columnist recap
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
Maurice Hicks ran for 139 yards Sunday afternoon at Candlestick. The 49ers' backup running back, in his first 100-yard rushing game of his career, gave the year's identity tape the kind of breakout the offseason will use as the lone player-development moment. Ken Dorsey threw three touchdown passes. The 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-28 in the kind of division home win where, against the only team the 49ers have beaten all year, the rematch produced the second win.
Dorsey was 18-of-34 for 191 with the three touchdowns. Cedrick Wilson caught five for 83 with two touchdowns. Maurice Hicks ran for 139 with a touchdown. Josh McCown threw for 307. Emmitt Smith ran for 53 with a touchdown.
2-11. The kind of division home win where, with Maurice Hicks's breakout rushing game and Ken Dorsey's three-touchdown passing day, the year's identity tape produced one more competitive moment. The Washington Redskins on the road next Sunday for another NFC matchup. The kind of December where the year's second win, against the team the 49ers beat in overtime in Week 5, gives the year's identity tape something to point at.
By the numbers
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
49ers 31, Cardinals 28. Margin: +3. Thirteen-game record: 2-11, -135 differential.
* Ken Dorsey: 18-of-34 for 191, 3 TDs (Wilson x2 + 1), 0 INTs.
* Maurice Hicks: 34 carries for 139, 1 TD (career-best rushing day).
* Cedrick Wilson: 5 catches for 83, 2 TDs.
* Josh McCown: 26-of-44 for 307, 0 TDs, 1 INT.
* Emmitt Smith: 18 carries for 53, 1 TD.
* Larry Fitzgerald: receiving production.
* 49ers 2-11 (2nd win); Cardinals 4-9.
Film room
AI summary, sourced from 1 period article (ESPN AP)
A 31-28 division home win over the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick. Ken Dorsey throws three touchdown passes. Maurice Hicks runs for 139 yards. The 49ers earn their second win and improve to 2-11.
How it unfolded
The 49ers scored on their opening drive with a Ken Dorsey touchdown to Cedrick Wilson to make it 7-0. The Cardinals answered with an Emmitt Smith touchdown to tie at 7-7. Dorsey threw a second touchdown to Wilson to make it 14-7. The Cardinals added a McCown drive that ended on a touchdown to make it 14-14. The 49ers added a Maurice Hicks touchdown to make it 21-14. The Cardinals added a touchdown to tie at 21-21 at halftime. The third quarter was a Dorsey third touchdown to push the lead to 28-21. The Cardinals added a touchdown to tie at 28-28. The fourth quarter was a Joe Nedney field goal to win it 31-28.
The turning point
Maurice Hicks's first-half rushing breakout. With the score tied 14-14 and the offense looking for the kind of grind-it-out lead the year's identity tape needed, Hicks's touchdown gave the 49ers the lead they used to manage the rest of the day with the kind of game-day discipline the staff has been promising.
By the numbers
Dorsey 191 passing on 34 attempts with three TDs. Maurice Hicks 139 rushing on 34 carries with a TD (career-best). Cedrick Wilson 83 receiving on 5 catches with two TDs. McCown 307 on 44 attempts with no TDs. Emmitt Smith 53 rushing with a TD. Larry Fitzgerald 60 receiving.
Personnel watch
Ken Dorsey's three-touchdown passing day, the kind of game the year's QB carousel had been searching for. Maurice Hicks's career-best 139-yard rushing day. Cedrick Wilson's two-touchdown receiving game. The kind of division home win where everything the year's identity tape was hoping for actually worked.
What it means
2-11 with the Redskins on the road next Sunday. The kind of division home win that gives the year's identity tape its second credible chapter. Maurice Hicks's breakout day and Ken Dorsey's three-touchdown game are the year's offensive bright spots.
