Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals improved to 5-0 on the young season, shutting down Trey Lance and the San Francisco 49ers in a 17-10 victory.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS
Quarterback
Murray dropped back 34 times in this one, completing 22 of his 31 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown. His efficient day was accented by an 8.1 average depth of target and a 75.9% adjusted completion percentage.
Arizona’s defense contained San Francisco all afternoon, so Murray wasn’t asked to put up video game numbers in the desert. The typically mobile quarterback was anything but that Sunday. Despite notching six rushing attempts, Murray totaled a whopping -5 rushing yards, including -11 yards before contact and only one explosive run.
Running Back
The running back room existed in this one, but it didn’t do much more than that. James Conner and Chase Edmonds combined for 20 touches but mustered just 61 yards. Conner was the definition of inefficient, carrying the ball 10 times for 29 yards. It wasn’t all his fault, though, as just 13.8% of his yards came before contact.
Receivers
As usual, DeAndre Hopkins was the alpha in the Cardinals’ passing game. He paced Arizona’s receiver room in snaps (34), targets (nine), receptions (six) and yards (87). He found the end zone as well, but it was rookie Rondale Moore who made the play of the day:
RONDALE MOORE CATCH OF THE DAY
pic.twitter.com/5Ky3h6xEsS— PFF (@PFF) October 10, 2021
Moore ran 70% of his 20 snaps from the slot and typically stayed near the line of scrimmage as a result. He averaged just 4.5 yards of depth per target.
Offensive Line
The Arizona offensive line had a mediocre outing. It was solid in pass protection, putting up a 62.1 pass-blocking grade after allowing eight total pressures and one sack on 34 dropbacks. It tallied a 65.9 run-blocking grade as well. Guard Josh Jones rode the struggle bus all afternoon, allowing a sack, two hurries and three pressures en route to a putrid 17.2 pass-blocking grade.
Defensive Line
J.J. Watt may have not been the one to get home on the Arizona defensive line, but he was clearly the unit’s top performer. He finished with an 89.9 pass-rushing grade, tallying seven total pressures, four QB hits and three hurries on 29 pass-rushing snaps. His 24.1% win percentage led both defenses among players who had at least three pass-rushing snaps.
Linebackers
Jordan Hicks paced the unit and the team in snaps Sunday with 59. He finished with six tackles but made first contact on seven plays. Hicks posted a very poor 29.6 overall defensive grade, including a 36.5 coverage grade. In 29 coverage snaps, Hicks was targeted twice and allowed one reception for 26 yards.
Second-year linebacker Isaiah Simmons fared better, finishing with a 60.7 overall grade, but it was rookie Zaven Collins who posted the best day. The Tulsa product finished with a 71.4 overall grade on 32 snaps, tacking on three tackles and not allowing a reception in 16 coverage snaps.
Secondary
The secondary may have contained the rookie Lance statistically, but it finished the afternoon with a mediocre 57.9 coverage grade. It forced just one incompletion and one coverage sack while allowing five completions longer than 15 yards. Cornerback Robert Alford led the group with a 70.6 coverage grade on 34 coverage snaps: He saw three targets against him, allowing just one catch for 1 yard.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ers
Quarterback
Looking at the box score, Lance’s first start was one to forget. He completed 51.7% of his passes for 192 yards and an interception, but there was more to Lance’s debut. He completed three big-time throws for a big-time throw rate of 10.3% and had just one turnover-worthy play (the interception). The former NDSU Bison showed off his dual-threat ability as well, leading the Niners in rushing. Lance tallied 89 yards on the ground on 17 carries, including five scrambles and 60 yards after contact.
Running Backs
Elijah Mitchell dominated the running back touches in this one, garnering 81.8% of the running back carries. Rookie Trey Sermon handled just one carry the entire afternoon. Mitchell wasn’t terribly efficient with his nine carries, totaling just 43 yards. However, Mitchell had 48 yards after contact and one explosive run. Kyle Juszczyk played the receiving role in the backfield, snagging three receptions on 20 receiving snaps and four targets.
Receivers
Deebo Samuel WR1 SZN took a hit in this one, as the do-it-all wideout hauled in just three passes on six targets. His average depth of target came out to a respectable 11.3 yards per target, but his two drops put a damper on his outlook. Brandon Aiyuk seemed to continue to work his way out of Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse, playing 27 receiving snaps on the day, the second-most for San Francisco (Samuel, 33).
In place of George Kittle, tight end Ross Dwelley played 26 snaps and had two catches. He couldn’t provide the field-stretching ability of Kittle, however, averaging just 0.96 yards per route run.
Offensive Line
Guard Laken Tomlinson showed up and showed out in pass protection. He had a clean stat sheet, not allowing a single pressure on 35 pass-blocking snaps to the tune of an 87.7 pass-blocking grade. He was less than stellar in run-blocking, though, with a 49.0 run-blocking grade. Trent Williams was, as usual, the unit’s MVP, finishing the afternoon with a 72.0 overall grade after allowing just two pressures on 35 pass-blocking snaps.
Defensive Line
Nick Bosa led the San Francisco defensive line Sunday, earning a 91.6 overall defensive grade and an 87.9 pass-rushing grade. He had a sack, a hit and two hurries for a total of four pressures on 25 pass-rushing snaps, and he didn’t have a single negatively graded play in run defense.
Linebackers
Fred Warner led the 49ers in snaps played with 60 and finished with a 64.4 defensive grade. The linebacker had five total tackles and a missed tackle on 26 run-defense snaps and allowed two catches on three targets on 33 coverage snaps.
Secondary
Safeties Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward and cornerback Josh Norman co-led the unit in snaps, each tallying 34 coverage snaps. Ward and Tartt posted respectable coverage grades of 56 and 55.2 and combined for nine tackles. Norman, meanwhile, struggled against this Arizona aerial attack. The journeyman corner saw seven targets come his way and allowed four receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown on his way to an abysmal 33.7 coverage grade.
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