The 49ers (5-10) host the Arizona Cardinals (5-10) at Candlestick Park for a 1:15 PT kickoff in the season finale.
Jim Tomsula coaches the 49ers as interim head coach in his first NFL head coaching game. Richard Bartel starts at quarterback for Arizona after their season-long quarterback carousel. Alex Smith starts for the 49ers. Brian Westbrook the lead back. Vernon Davis the tight end.
Jim Tomsula coaches his first NFL game as interim head coach Sunday at Candlestick. Singletary was fired six days ago. Trent Baalke is the new general manager. A season finale where the team plays for the next head coach's evaluation tape.
Alex Smith starts at quarterback. Brian Westbrook at running back. Vernon Davis the tight end. The Cardinals come in 5-10 with Richard Bartel at quarterback, the kind of season-ending start that signals an offseason rebuild for them too.
Favored by 9 at home. The 6-10 record the team finishes with will be remembered less than the head-coach search that begins Monday morning.
Week 17 across the NFL sees the playoff field nearly set. The Falcons (12-3), Saints, Bears, Packers, and Eagles lead the NFC. The Buccaneers and Giants need wild-card help. Inside the NFC West the Seahawks (6-9) and Rams (7-8) play for the division title next week. The 49ers (5-10) and Cardinals (5-10) play for nothing on the scoreboard. The Sunday finale is the kind of week where the team's whole-year evaluation comes down to Tomsula's one-game audition and the front office's offseason coaching search.
Through fifteen games the 49ers are 5-10 with a -72 point differential. Singletary's three-year head-coaching tenure finishes 18-22. Tomsula coaches his first NFL game. Alex Smith returns from the Week 16 injury. Brian Westbrook averages 4.0 yards per carry post-Gore. The Cardinals are 5-10 with Richard Bartel making his second NFL start. Beanie Wells averages 56 rushing yards a game. Larry Fitzgerald leads the team in receiving with 90 catches. Vegas opens the 49ers as 9-point home favorites; total 36.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 13-2 | W7 |
| New York Jets | 10-5 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-8 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-11 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 11-4 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-4 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-10 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4-11 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 9-6 | W3 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 8-7 | L2 |
| Tennessee Titans | 6-9 | L1 |
| Houston Texans | 5-10 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10-5 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8-7 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-8 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 4-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Rams | 7-8 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-9 | L3 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-10 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-5 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 9-6 | L2 |
| Washington Redskins | 6-9 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 11-4 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9-6 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-9 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-10 | W3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 12-3 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 11-4 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-6 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2-13 | L1 |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Ted Ginn Jr. 37 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Jeff Reed kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Jeff Reed 39 yard field goal | 0-10 |
| Cardinals | Larry Fitzgerald 10 yard pass from John Skelton ( Jay Feely kick) | 7-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Vernon Davis 59 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Jeff Reed kick) | 7-17 |
| 49ers | Brian Westbrook 6 yard rush ( Jeff Reed kick) | 7-24 |
| 49ers | Brian Westbrook 6 yard rush ( Jeff Reed kick) | 7-31 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Tarell Brown 62 yard interception return ( Jeff Reed kick) | 7-38 |
Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and the 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 38-7 at Candlestick Park in Jim Tomsula's interim head-coaching debut. Brian Westbrook ran for 79 and two touchdowns. Smith finished 15-of-29 for 276 with a touchdown to Vernon Davis. The defense produced eight sacks of Richard Bartel and held Arizona to 130 total yards. The 49ers finished 6-10 in Tomsula's one-game audition.[1][2][3]
Jim Tomsula coached his first NFL game Sunday afternoon at Candlestick and the 49ers crushed the Arizona Cardinals 38-7. Alex Smith threw for 276 yards with two touchdown passes. Brian Westbrook ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The defense produced eight sacks of Richard Bartel.
The kind of season-closing blowout that, in any other context, would just be a respectable finale against a beaten-down opponent. In this context, with Singletary gone six days and the head-coach search just beginning, it is the kind of one-game audition that earned Tomsula a long look from Trent Baalke for the permanent job. The kind of Sunday at Candlestick where the home crowd, watching the 49ers score 38 with a healthy quarterback and a healthy running game, got to see what the team could have been at various points of the season.
6-10. The kind of finish that, in any other division, would just be the worst record. In the NFC West, with the Seahawks set to win the division at 7-9 next week, it is one game out of first place. The kind of season that ends with a head-coach search and a quarterback question and a Trent Baalke front office about to draft and sign for whoever the next coach is. Jim Harbaugh's name is starting to circulate.
49ers 38, Cardinals 7. Margin: +31. Sixteen-game record: 6-10, -41 differential.
* Alex Smith: 15-of-29 for 276, 2 TDs (Davis, plus one), 0 INTs, 107.8 rating (return start).
* Brian Westbrook: 13 carries for 79, 2 TDs.
* Vernon Davis: 3 catches for 96, 1 TD.
* Tomsula's first NFL game as head coach.
* 49ers D: 8 sacks of Richard Bartel; held Arizona to 130 total yards.
* Richard Bartel: 16-of-28 for 150, 0 TD, 1 INT.
* Tim Hightower: 12 carries for 30.
* 49ers 6-10 final; Cardinals 5-11 final.
A 38-7 home season-finale blowout of the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick. Jim Tomsula goes 1-0 in his interim head-coaching audition. The 49ers finish 6-10.
How it unfolded
The 49ers scored on their opening drive with a Brian Westbrook touchdown run to make it 7-0. Arizona answered with a Steve Breaston touchdown reception to tie at 7-7. The 49ers added a Joe Nedney field goal to make it 10-7 at halftime. The third quarter was where the game broke open: a Vernon Davis touchdown made it 17-7, then a Westbrook second rushing touchdown made it 24-7, then another touchdown made it 31-7. The fourth quarter was an Anthony Dixon touchdown to make it 38-7. The defense produced eight sacks throughout, holding Bartel and the Cardinals' offense to one scoring drive.
The turning point
The Vernon Davis touchdown in the third quarter. With the score 10-7 and the 49ers needing to separate, Davis's touchdown started the run of three straight touchdowns that turned a one-score game into a five-score blowout in less than fifteen game-clock minutes.
By the numbers
Smith 276 passing on 29 attempts with two TDs. Westbrook 79 rushing on 13 carries with two TDs. Davis 96 receiving on 3 catches with a TD. Crabtree 4 catches for 60. Anthony Dixon a rushing TD. Bartel 150 passing on 28 attempts with an INT. The 49ers' defense's eight sacks were the team's high-water single-game total of the year.
Personnel watch
Jim Tomsula in his debut as NFL head coach. Alex Smith healthy in his return start. Brian Westbrook in his most productive game as the lead back. Vernon Davis the receiving touchdown. The defense's eight-sack performance the kind of full-team game the season had occasionally hinted at.
What it means
6-10 with the season closed and the head-coach search wide open. The kind of season finale that ends one chapter and opens another. The NFC West winner this year, somehow, will finish 7-9 — the Seahawks beating the Rams in Week 17 next Sunday at Qwest Field. The 49ers' 6-10 is one game out of first place in the league's weakest division. Trent Baalke and Jed York begin the head-coach search Monday morning.
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Alex Smith | 15/29 | 276 | 2 | 0 | |
| ARI | |||||
| Richard Bartel | 16/28 | 150 | 0 | 1 | |
| John Skelton | 14/25 | 92 | 1 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Brian Westbrook | 13 | 79 | 2 | 30 |
| Anthony Dixon | 11 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| Alex Smith | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| ARI | ||||
| Tim Hightower | 12 | 30 | 0 | 10 |
| Jason Wright | 3 | 23 | 0 | 10 |
| Beanie Wells | 5 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| John Skelton | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Vernon Davis | 3 | 96 | 1 | 59 |
| Josh Morgan | 3 | 59 | 0 | 32 |
| Michael Crabtree | 4 | 47 | 0 | 18 |
| Ted Ginn Jr. | 2 | 41 | 1 | 37 |
| Delanie Walker | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Brian Westbrook | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Anthony Dixon | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| ARI | ||||
| Larry Fitzgerald | 11 | 125 | 1 | 31 |
| Steve Breaston | 4 | 26 | 0 | 13 |
| Stephen Williams | 2 | 26 | 0 | 17 |
| Max Komar | 3 | 26 | 0 | 13 |
| Andre Roberts | 4 | 23 | 0 | 8 |
| Jason Wright | 3 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Beanie Wells | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Tim Hightower | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 2010 W17 - 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals - Game Thread
