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By Matt Barrows, Doug Haller and Jelani Scott
The Arizona Cardinals finished their season with an offensive explosion Sunday, securing a 47-24 home win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Arizona (8-9) pulled away from a close game with three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, the second of which came on a picture-perfect 12-yard pass from Kyler Murray to rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
MARV! Kyler puts it in the bucket to extend the @AZCardinals lead
đź“ş: #SFvsAZ on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/X8SWZEDNBj— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2025
Murray’s blooming connection with Harrison and tight end Trey McBride gives the Cards something to look forward to next fall, with the quarterback finding a rhythm with his top two targets on his way to 242 yards and a season-high four TDs.
For the 49ers (6-11), Sunday marked a fourth-straight loss and featured memorable moments from quarterback Josh Dobbs, who had a career day in place of the injured Brock Purdy, and wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who was ejected in the second quarter after getting into fights on back to back plays. Jennings ejection came as he sat 25 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season.
Cardinals may not be far off from contention
The Cardinals increased their win total by four games in Year 2 under coach Jonathan Gannon. That sounds like a successful season. It’s not that simple.
On Nov. 10, the Cardinals beat the Jets for their fourth win in a row. Atop the NFC West, they had the easiest remaining schedule of their division peers. Yet, they went 2-5 the rest of the way. The killer: Losing in overtime at woeful Carolina on Dec. 22.
So even though Arizona improved, it had a chance to make a real postseason push. And the Cardinals weren’t ready for the challenge.
Arizona’s best wins were against the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins. A positive: They were competitive against three of the league’s best teams, losing to Buffalo by six, Detroit by 7 and Minnesota by 1.
With an active offseason — the Cardinals need help with rushing the QB and at receiver — they may not be far off. — Doug Haller, Arizona senior writer
But the Kyler Murray question isn’t going away
After six NFL seasons, Murray still hasn’t proved himself as a quarterback who can lead the Cardinals deep into the playoffs.
This isn’t all his fault. Murray has played for two head coaches in the desert. He tore an ACL. And he’s had just two 1,000-yard receivers (McBride this season and DeAndre Hopkins in 2020). Put simply, the offensive supporting cast hasn’t been great.
This season, Murray looked comfortable in coordinator Drew Petzing’s system. He had two of the best games of his career, first in Week 2 against the Rams and later in Week 7 against the Jets. But consistency was a problem. And his decision making was questionable when pressured the second half of the season.
After Sunday’s win, Murray, 27, improved to 36-45-1 as Arizona’s starter. His worth as a franchise QB has been questioned since the Cardinals took him with the first pick of the 2019 draft. That probably won’t change anytime soon. — Haller
Dobbs put up a fight in first start with 49ers
Playing without Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Jennings for most of the contest, Dobbs had a mixed outing in his first start for the 49ers.
He finished with a career-high 326 yards with touchdowns to Ricky Pearsall and Kyle Juszczyk. He also threw two interceptions, one while trying to force feed Jennings and another in the fourth quarter on a throw that went through Pearsall’s hands. He also had a fourth-quarter fumble when he scrambled out of the pocket.
Dobbs, a free agent in March, didn’t seem all that interested in coming back next season because he wants a shot at a starting job, something he wouldn’t get with Purdy on the roster. “Free agency will be free agency so we’ll let that handle itself,” he said last week.
The QB’s year under Kyle Shanahan ought to make him more attractive to other teams on the open market. That was the case for Sam Darnold, who parlayed a backup role in San Francisco in 2023 to a starting job — and a trip to the Pro Bowl — this season for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Darnold-to-Minnesota signing also is expected to net the 49ers a fifth-round compensatory pick in April. They’d love to get a 2026 comp pick for Dobbs. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
Is Jake Moody on the chopping block?
One of the questions heading into the offseason: Will former third-round pick Jake Moody continue to kick for the 49ers?
Moody got a strong endorsement from Shanahan last month — “(He’s) made of the right stuff,” Shanahan said — but Moody limped to the finish line this season.
After starting out 13 of 14 on field goals, he suffered a high-ankle sprain while attempting a tackle following a short kickoff, another theme for him in 2024. He missed three games and was wobbly since coming back.
On Sunday, he made his first attempt, from 51 yards, although it was a line-drive kick that got little elevation. His next attempt went wide left from 47 yards.
Moody was 11 of 20 in his last nine games and finished the year with one of the worst percentages, 70.6, in the NFL. That’s also a poor reflection on special teams coordinator Brian Schneider. His unit on Sunday also allowed a fake-punt conversion for the second time this season, one the Cardinals converted into a field goal. — Barrows
Required reading
(Photo: Matt Kartozian / Imagn Images)
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