NFL: SF 49ers 20 AZ Cardinals 17 recap and analysis

QB Lindley started the ball well for the Cards, as he found his TE Fells for a 24 yards gain on the right side of the field. The 2 Arizona RB Taylor and Williams ran well and because of their effectiveness, AZ could managed a real tricky play. On a 1st and 10 to the 49ers 20, Lindley handle the ball to RB Grice but Lindley got the ball thanks to a flea-flicker and he connected with WR Floyd who was wide open in the red zone, as the 9ers backs anticipated the run so they were totally fooled by the trick. San Francisco started his drive with 3 scrimmage yards from Frank Gore and on a 3rd and 8, QB Kaepernick found WR Boldin on a slant and the former Seminoles scored on a surprising 76 yards TD, as the Zona pass rushers were so concentrate on Kap and his running abilities. QB Lindley continued to perform in the next drive, as he connected again with his TE Fells up the middle. But at midfield he couldn’t stay on the field, as linebacker Skuta tackled RB Williams for a huge 7 yard loss and the Cardinals were forced to punt. SF came out running, as both Gore and Kaepernick ran well. The key was a big 19 yard gain by the 9ers QB on a 3rd down, and up to midfield, K Dawson kicked a 53 yard field goal as SF leaded 10-7. Lindley hits WR Brown to start the next Cards drive, as the rookie WR gained 19 yards on the play. But the QB out of San Diego State was sacked by DE Tank Carradine, so he had an harder 3rd down and eventually, he was picked by ILB Wilhoite, as the QB scrambled to his left and tried to find Hugues but his throw was horrible. So SF got the ball back and WR Crabtree made an important 20 yard reception on a 3 and 8. Then Kap found WR Patton after a superb play action and a scramble to his right, as the former Louisiana Tech WR gained 35 big yards and beat CB Cromartie, one of the best in the NFL. Later, K Dawson kicked an other field goal, as San Francisco leaded by 6, 13-7. But Lindley fight back and thanks to a great drive by RB Williams, rookie K Catanzaro reduced the edge with a 36 yard field goal. Zona used his timeouts to stop the clock and the 49ers went 3 and outs, so Arizona had a chance to score before the end of the 1st period. The QB found first of all WR Fitzgerald for a 21 yard gain, but the big play came just after, as WR Floyd was found by Lindley on a long throw to the right and the former Notre Dame WR scored his 2nd TD of the afternoon. Most importantly, the Cards leaded at the half 17-13.
The first drive of the 2nd half went nothing for the 49ers, but their defense came up big again. On a 3rd and 6 up to midfield, QB Lindley tried to find WR Brown but CB Culliver got under the Zona WR and picked the ball. The 9ers drove very well thanks to a great running game, highlighted by a 30 yards gain for Kap followed by a 20 yard run for RB Gore to enter the Arizona 31. On a 3rd and 24, DT Kelly was penalized and RB Gore took advantage of the automatic 1st down to gain 16 yards on 2 straight routes. Then, the Niners QB found his FB Bruce Miller on a superb play action, as Miller was wide open in the left corner of the end zone : SF regained the lead 20-17. The Cards offense couldn’t manage anything against a pretty good San Francisco defense. Frank Gore was superb down the stretch, as he killed the clock and ran some great plays against a pretty good defense, especially against the run. Zona went 3 and outs, and SF killed again some clocks, as Gore used once again all of his experience to let the time go. Lindley got the ball back with 2min to go and his team down by 3. After being sacked by rookie OLB Lynch for a loss of 9, the QB tried once again to connect with the rookie John Brown, but he was double covered and SS Dahl picked the former SDSU guy for the 3rd time on the day, as San Francisco won 20-17.
The Niners win likely the last game for their coach, as Jim Harbaugh will become as everyone presume the next Michigan Wolverines head coach. Veterans RB Gore and WR Boldin were superb, as they really managed the clock well in the last quarter. The young D of SF was good too, and with the return of all the injured players, this defense could be as good as anyone next year. For Arizona, well their loss against Seattle and this one are because of their offensive issues, and they will visited the Panthers for a Wild Card game next week. Carolina atomized Atlanta and they are on a roll right now, as QB Cam Newton is healthy and their D is one of the best lately. QB Lindley was not so bad with 316 yards and 2 TD, but Zona will win and live with their defense and their abilities to create turnovers. The MVP of this game goes for Frank Gore, as this was maybe the last game of his career and the former Miami Hurricanes ran for 144 yards in the ballgame.

With the collaboration of Alan Guillou