The 49ers (5-9) travel to State Farm Stadium for a 1:25 PT kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals (8-6), this time as the visiting team.
C.J. Beathard starts again. Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins lead the Cardinals' offense. The Cardinals are coming off a Week 15 loss to the Eagles and need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The 49ers are eliminated from playoff contention. The Cardinals are still in.[1][2][3]
Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium, this time with the 49ers as the visitors. The same building where the 49ers played their last two home games is now Arizona's. The Cardinals are 8-6 and need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
C.J. Beathard starts. Mullens benched. Mostert and Wilson share the backfield. The defense continues short Bosa, Thomas, and Trent Williams.
Underdog by 7 against a Cardinals team that, in the Week 1 reverse-fixture, beat the 49ers 24-20 at Levi's. A 5-9 team can still play spoiler.
Week 16 is the late-December playoff-positioning sort. The Cardinals (8-6) need a win to stay in the wild-card picture. The Seahawks (10-4) have clinched the NFC West. The 49ers (5-9) are eliminated. Around the NFC the Rams, Buccaneers, Saints, and Packers continue at the top. The Sunday game is the kind of week the loser's season effectively ends and the spoiler-favorite is the team with nothing to play for.
Through fourteen games the 49ers are 5-9 with a -19 point differential. The Cardinals are 8-6 with a +37. Kyler Murray averages 257 passing per game with 25 TDs and 11 INTs plus 715 rushing yards. DeAndre Hopkins 1,326 receiving yards. Beathard starts. Vegas opens the Cardinals as 7-point home favorites; total 47.5.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 11-3 | -- |
| Miami Dolphins | 9-5 | -- |
| New England Patriots | 6-8 | -- |
| New York Jets | 1-13 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-3 | -- |
| Cleveland Browns | 10-4 | -- |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9-5 | -- |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-10-1 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 10-4 | -- |
| Tennessee Titans | 10-4 | -- |
| Houston Texans | 4-10 | -- |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1-13 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 13-1 | -- |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 7-7 | -- |
| Denver Broncos | 5-9 | -- |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 5-9 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 10-4 | -- |
| Los Angeles Rams | 9-5 | -- |
| Arizona Cardinals | 8-6 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5-9 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Football Team | 6-8 | -- |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-9 | -- |
| New York Giants | 5-9 | -- |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4-9-1 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 11-3 | -- |
| Chicago Bears | 7-7 | -- |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6-8 | -- |
| Detroit Lions | 5-9 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 10-4 | -- |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-5 | -- |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4-10 | -- |
| Carolina Panthers | 4-10 | -- |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | Mike Nugent 27 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| 49ers | Jeff Wilson 21 yard pass from C.J. Beathard ( Robbie Gould kick) | 7-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | Mike Nugent 43 yard field goal | 7-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Kyle Juszczyk 9 yard pass from C.J. Beathard ( Robbie Gould kick) | 14-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | Kenyan Drake 1 yard rush (pass failed) | 14-12 |
| 49ers | Kyle Juszczyk 1 yard pass from C.J. Beathard ( Robbie Gould kick failed) | 20-12 |
C.J. Beathard threw for 182 yards and a touchdown and the 49ers shocked the Arizona Cardinals 20-12 at State Farm Stadium, knocking Arizona's playoff hopes into critical condition. Jeff Wilson Jr. ran for 183 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The 49ers' defense forced four turnovers including two interceptions of Kyler Murray. The 49ers improved to 6-9. Arizona fell to 8-7.[1][2][3]
Jeff Wilson Jr. ran for 183 yards Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium. The 49ers, eliminated from the playoffs two weeks ago, beat the Cardinals 20-12 in a road spoiler that effectively ended Arizona's wild-card hopes.
C.J. Beathard threw for 182 and a touchdown. The 49ers' defense, without most of its front-four starters, forced four takeaways including two interceptions of Kyler Murray. Fred Warner had nine tackles and a sack.
DeAndre Hopkins, the Cardinals' WR1 who caught 14 passes in the Week 1 win at Levi's Stadium, was held to 6 catches for 65 yards. Kyler Murray averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. The kind of road Sunday where a 5-9 team plays the role of spoiler and the Cardinals' season collapses on the way out. 6-9 with the Seahawks coming up at the relocated home stadium next week to close the year.
49ers 20, Cardinals 12. Margin: +8. Fifteen-game record: 6-9, -11 differential.
A 20-12 spoiler win at State Farm Stadium. The 49ers improve to 6-9 and knock the Arizona Cardinals' playoff hopes into critical condition.
How it unfolded
The Cardinals opened with a Zane Gonzalez field goal. Beathard led a touchdown drive ending in a TD throw. Wilson Jr. ran in a touchdown to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. Arizona kicked another field goal. The 49ers added a Robbie Gould field goal to make it 17-6 at halftime. The third quarter was a defensive battle with both teams kicking field goals. Murray drove the Cardinals to a late touchdown that was answered by a 49ers field goal and a goal-line stand to seal it.
The turning point
The 49ers' first-quarter touchdown drive. With the Cardinals having taken a 3-0 lead and the road environment looking like it favored Arizona, Beathard's methodical 13-play scoring drive announced that the 49ers, despite being eliminated, were going to play the spoiler role.
By the numbers
Beathard 17-of-29 for 182 with one TD. Jeff Wilson Jr. 22 carries for 183 with a TD. Mostert 6 carries for 33. Kyler Murray 26-of-41 for 247 with no TDs and two INTs. DeAndre Hopkins 6 catches for 65 (limited by the 49ers' coverage).
Personnel watch
Jeff Wilson Jr. in his career game on the ground. Beathard in his second straight efficient start. The defense forced four takeaways and held Kyler Murray to 4.4 yards per attempt, the kind of defensive performance that the 49ers had not produced since Week 6 against the Rams.
What it means
6-9 with the Seahawks coming up at the relocated home stadium next week to close the year. The Sunday spoiler win is the kind of late-season result that, in a lost year, gives the coaching staff and the front office a reason to feel that the season was not entirely lost. The 49ers play out the schedule with one game left.
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| C.J. Beathard | 13/22 | 182 | 3 | 0 | |
| ARI | |||||
| Kyler Murray | 31/50 | 247 | 0 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Jeff Wilson | 22 | 183 | 0 | 34 |
| C.J. Beathard | 3 | 18 | 0 | 17 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Tevin Coleman | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| ARI | ||||
| Kyler Murray | 8 | 75 | 0 | 30 |
| Kenyan Drake | 18 | 45 | 1 | 10 |
| D.J. Foster | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| George Kittle | 4 | 92 | 0 | 27 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 3 | 28 | 0 | 11 |
| Jeff Wilson | 1 | 21 | 1 | 21 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 2 | 10 | 2 | 9 |
| Tevin Coleman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ARI | ||||
| Christian Kirk | 7 | 76 | 0 | 38 |
| KeeSean Johnson | 2 | 50 | 0 | 45 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 8 | 48 | 0 | 9 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 6 | 28 | 0 | 9 |
| Dan Arnold | 3 | 25 | 0 | 11 |
| Chase Edmonds | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Darrell Daniels | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Kenyan Drake | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 2020 W16 - 49ers at Arizona Cardinals - Game Thread
