49ers vs. Cardinals: Five keys to avoiding upset against ‘scrappy’ division rival

SANTA CLARA – Sandwiched between last Thursday night’s home-opening hoopla and next Sunday night’s visit by the Dallas Cowboy is … a trap game?

No, no, that can’t be right. The 49ers’ schedule says this Sunday’s matinee is simply against the Arizona Cardinals.

Any NFC West matchup carries extra weight, and the undefeated Niners (3-0) insist they aren’t taking lightly the incoming Cardinals (1-2). Nor should they.

“They’re a team that really should be 3-0 right now,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said.

The Cardinals have taken a fourth-quarter lead into each of their games, only to lose against the Washington Commanders and the New York Giants before upsetting the previously undefeated Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, 28-16.

“Arizona looked like a really solid team that was playing harder than Dallas,” said defensive end Nick Bosa, who caught that game on television over the weekend after Thursday night’s 30-12, home-opening win by the 49ers over the New York Giants.

Speaking of Levi’s Stadium, Shanahan has lost more times at home to the Cardinals than any other NFC West visitor, with the 49ers winning only 2-of-6 meetings at Levi’s Stadium (in 2019 and last season).

Here are the 49ers’ five keys to winning this one:

1. SAFE-AND-SANE QUARTERBACKS

Neither Brock Purdy nor Cardinals counterpart Joshua Dobbs have had a pass intercepted this season. Purdy’s streak actually extends 190 passes, to New Year’s Day in Las Vegas, and, since then, he’s posted a 110.5 passer rating (125-of-190, 1,644 yards, 10 touchdowns).

“Of course I pride myself in not harming our team,” Purdy said. “It just comes down to trying to be selfless, making the right decisions, being prepared for scenarios, giving our guys on offense a shot to catch the ball, and being smart for our defense and not putting them in a bad situation.

“Definitely, it’s on my mind every single play, every snap, being smart with the ball. I want to win.”

Purdy has won every game since replacing Jimmy Garoppolo on Dec. 4 against Miami, except, of course, the NFC Championship Game in which Philadelphia tore Purdy’s elbow ligament. One thing Purdy must do better: communication on the snap count with center Jake Brendel. Purdy took the blame for gaffes that resulted in two botched snaps early in the second half of the past two games. Purdy’s only turnover this season came on a strip-sack fumble in the Sept. 10 rout at Pittsburgh.

Dobbs will try to become the sixth Cardinals starting quarterback to win at Levi’s Stadium in 10 visits, a procession featuring Drew Stanton (two wins), Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, Carson Palmer and Josh Rosen. Dobbs has lost two fumbles, and had none of his 82 passes intercepted (while completing 72 percent for two touchdowns and just 183 yards per game).

2. EAGLES FLASHBACK?

The 49ers don’t see NFC Championship Game ghosts when watching film of the Cardinals. But they’ll admit resemblances do exist defensively, as expected, because Cardinals’ first-year coach Jonathan Gannon previously served as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.

“There are some similar things for sure within the scheme that we had game planned for last year in the playoffs and whatnot,” Purdy said, “but at the same time, man, it’s like they’ve got different players and just their style is a little bit different compared to Philly.”

A refresher (though some 49ers fans may want to skip to the next paragraph): The 49ers were down 7-0 when Purdy entered the NFC title game and advanced them to midfield within five snaps. Then came play No. 6, and Hasson Reddick careened into Purdy’s throwing elbow to set in motion the 31-7 rout.

“Yeah, there are some similarities, some differences. They do a lot of things well,” Christian McCaffrey said of the Cardinals. “Their defense plays really hard. They have a lot of talent. They’re scrappy.”

They’re led by linebacker Khyzir White, whose the first Cardinals defender in 40 years with 30 tackles, a sack and an interception through three games. He had 14 tackles and an end zone interception with three minutes left in Sunday’s 28-16 upset over the Cowboys. Seven Cardinals have a sack, topped by Dennis Gardeck (three) and Victor Dimukeje (2.5).

3. REV UP RUN DEFENSE

With the 49ers offense scoring 30 points per game, opponents have tried to play catch up through the air. Thus, the 49ers defense has faced a league-low 43 runs (159 yards, 3.7 per carry; two touchdowns).

“It’s been good (run defense) so far, but I don’t think we’ve been challenged a ton,” Shanahan said. “Our biggest challenge will be this week, and going ahead, it will only get stronger. We have our work cut out for us and we’re well aware of that.”

The 49ers’ next three opponents all boast top-eight rushing attacks: the Cardinals at No. 6, the Cowboys at No. 8 and the Browns at No. 4.

The Cardinals’ James Conner has a knack for scoring against the 49ers (and NFC West opponents). Now in his third season with Arizona after a four-year tenure in Pittsburgh, Conner is a 233-pound force, and one that can maneuver to the goal line. He scored three in the Cardinals’ 31-17 win at Levi’s Stadium in November 2021.

On the flip side, the 49ers’ offense counters with McCaffrey, who’s scored in 12 consecutive games and has a touchdown run in each of their three wins this season.

4. OFFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT

Rookie Jake Moody’s NFL initiation has seen him make all three of his field-goal attempts in each game. Well, that may be great for him, but the 49ers’ offense wants more points for its efforts.

“Getting better on third downs is what we’re looking at,” tight end George Kittle said. “To win a lot of games in this league, you have to score a lot of touchdowns, so we’re going to try to get better at that.”

In their past two games, the 49ers were 1-of-6 and 2-of-6 on third-down conversions after halftime, so improving on that was an emphasis at Wednesday’s practice.

Missing from practice, however, were wide receivers Deebo Samuel (knee, ribs) and Jauan Jennings (shin). That’s not great considering Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder) is working his way back from what figures to be only a one-game absence.

The 49ers, in the past two wins, converted 5-of-10 red-zone opportunities into touchdowns in their past two wins combined. The Cowboys, in Sunday’s loss at Arizona, converted on 1-of-5 red-zone drives.

5. AVOID PENALTIES

Because they’ve committed only one turnover this season, the 49ers have mostly controlled their victories. Their defense has been most vulnerable when tagged with penalties, such as Deommodore Lenoir’s pair that sparked the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lone touchdown drive in Week 1. When Lenoir made a pass-interference penalty last game, the New York Giants scored on their next snap to cut the 49ers’ lead to 17-12 in the third quarter (of a 30-12 win).

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw must buck the trend of drawing unnecessary roughness penalties, which have come his way the past two games even though both calls were questionable.

What helped doom the Cowboys to last Sunday’s loss at Arizona were their season-high 13 penalties (107 yards). The Giants had nine penalties (75 yards) and the Commanders eight penalties (70 yards) in their games against Arizona.

One potential pitfall this game is hitting Dobbs on a scramble.

“He doesn’t like to slide so you have to be ready to tackle him,” Nick Bosa said. “He’ll try and get extra yards like a running back. And we have to pressure him. I don’t think many teams have gotten good pressure on him yet.”

Added Fred Warner on Dobbs: “With him staying up more, we’ve got to be aware of that and get all 11 hats to the ball.”