The game-day injury report pointed at San Francisco's front, and that's where it showed. Nick Bosa, Romello Height and James Thompson Jr. were all inactive. The in-game list grew from there. Mike Evans left with what Ian Rapoport reported as a rib strain, which cut into a receiver room already missing Demarcus Robinson (IR) and Brandon Aiyuk. Trent Williams (neck), Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps) and Gracen Halton (ankle) were all listed as questionable to return. Arizona played without safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, DT Andrew Billings and OT Josh Fryar, and Carson Beck was inactive as the emergency 3rd quarterback.
For 3 quarters, this went the way the preview expected. San Francisco scored the only points of the 1st quarter, led 17-6 at halftime and 23-13 after 3. Arizona kicked field goals while the 49ers finished drives. It looked like a 3rd straight comfortable win, after the 27-7 win over the Rams and the 35-13 win over Miami.
Then the Cardinals scored 17 in the 4th quarter. That's 10 more points than they scored in the entire Seattle game. The quarter lines up with what was missing on the other side: a San Francisco front without Bosa, Height and Thompson Jr., which by late afternoon was also dealing with injuries to Halton and Greenlaw. Arizona's offense got 30 points on the road against a team that had allowed 20 in its first 2 games combined. That's a very different story from how Brissett's last start went.
San Francisco kept scoring, and that's why it won. The 49ers added 13 points in the 4th quarter while Arizona was coming back, so the Cardinals never got the ball with a chance to take the lead from the front. That's 36 points without Bosa and while losing Evans partway through. It's also the smallest winning margin of San Francisco's season by a lot. The earlier wins were by 20 and 22. This one was by 6.
Arizona's secondary was the concern going in, with Taylor-Demerson out and Will Johnson on IR. It gave up 36, the most the Cardinals have allowed in a regular-season game this year. They've now allowed 31 and 36 in back-to-back losses, which is a more real problem than a Brissett offense that turned out to have more in it than anyone thought.
San Francisco is 3-0 and has won 5 straight, counting the preseason. The more important number might be how many of its starters finished on the injury list. Arizona drops to 1-2 with 2 straight losses. It at least has a 4th quarter that shows the offense can move the ball without Murray.