WEEK 3 · FINAL
THE READ
Jordan Hayes
The armchair coach
49ers run away with it, 49-14
San Francisco's 49-14 demolition of Arizona on Sunday left no room for interpretation: the Cardinals have a fundamental problem on defense that extends well beyond Week 3. Brock Purdy completed 21 of 33 for 434 yards and 7 touchdowns while Mike Evans caught 9 passes for 199 yards and 4 scores, and Arizona's pass defense had no answer for either. The Cardinals managed just 207 passing yards and 0 sacks in response, and Trey McBride's 10 catches for 162 yards could not mask the gap in execution elsewhere. Arizona needs to stop asking its offense to carry the load—the team ran 29 times for 96 yards—and figure out how to generate pressure and coverage downfield, because at 0-3, the problem is not effort, it is scheme.
Jordan Hayes
The armchair coach
THE WIDER PICTURE
| Team | SRS | SOS | MARGIN | TO +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | -25.4 | +2.8 | -28.1 | -9 |
| 49ers | +11.6 | -1.4 | +13.0 | +9 |
SRS is how many points a side beats an
average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good
team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20.
SOS is how hard that schedule has been.
Full table.
49ers —
NFC #5
· 6-2
Playoff picture →
In the MVP race
#1
Brock Purdy
QB · 49ers · 36.9% of the field
#4
Mike Evans
WR · 49ers · 11.5% of the field
The whole board →
IN THE BOOTH
Ava Collins
Beat reporter
Arizona's defense had no answer for Mike Evans—4 touchdowns and 199 yards—and Brock Purdy exploited the gaps relentlessly with 7 scoring passes, leaving the Cardinals scoreless in a 49-14 rout that now has San Francisco undefeated and Arizona without a win.
They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers —
none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that
did not happen.
Brock Purdy
49ers
21/33, 434 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT
Mike Evans
49ers
9 catches, 199 yards, 4 TD
Trey McBride
Cardinals
10 catches, 162 yards, 1 TD
THE STORY SO FAR
WHAT DECIDED IT
Through the air
49ers 434, Cardinals 207
49ers
Total yards
49ers 447, Cardinals 303
49ers
On the ground
Cardinals 96, 49ers 13
Cardinals
Pressure
49ers 3 sacks, Cardinals 0
49ers
THE ROOM
Final. The recap is below.
THE MATCHUP SCOUT
every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Balanced
Pass 53% · Rush 47% · 13.9 scored, 42.0 allowed
6.6 yds/att
50.2% completions
4.1 yds/carry
290.8 yds/game
2.3 giveaways/game
6.9% sack rate
last 5: 0-5
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 28 · Turnover-prone
Balance 97
Ball security 35
Back usage 44%
QB runs 1.4/game
Most exposed: ball security -- 2.3 giveaways a game
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 74
WR 79
TE 99
RB 84
OL 80
DL 80
LB 74
DB 82
Best: Trey McBride TE 99
Fastest: Jeremiyah Love HB 94 SPD
8 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK
what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
LEAGUE DATA
counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it
Pass-heavy
Pass 96% · Rush 4% · 49.8 scored, 36.8 allowed
11.6 yds/att
55.9% completions
8.6 yds/carry
482.2 yds/game
2.2 giveaways/game
3.3% sack rate
last 5: 3-2
SAPPHIRE METRICS
QB efficiency 63 · Aggressive
Balance 40
Ball security 37
Back usage 0%
QB runs 1.8/game
Most exposed: one-man passing game -- Mike Evans takes 46% of the receiving yards
PERSONNEL
off the roster — unit averages, best starters only
QB 90
WR 89
TE 78
RB 84
OL 77
DL 87
LB 78
DB 81
Best: Mike Evans WR 96
Fastest: Tyler Harrell WR 95 SPD
9 at star dev or better
YOUR NOTEBOOK
what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic
Sign in as a member of this league to keep private scouting notes on your opponents.
HOW THEY PLAY
the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season
¥
49ers · his last 8 games
Throws it
Gives it away
Runs the quarterback
One target
Pass / run96% / 4%
Points for / against49.8 — 36.8
Margin+13.0
Giveaways a game2.2
Sacks taken3.3% of dropbacks
Lead backDK Metcalf · 0.1/g
Top targetMike Evans · 46%
QB carries1.6 a game
dogmanrk
Cardinals · his last 8 games
Runs it
Gives it away
One back
One target
Pass / run54% / 46%
Points for / against14.9 — 43.4
Margin-28.5
Giveaways a game2.4
Sacks taken7.1% of dropbacks
Lead backJeremiyah Love · 20.1/g
Top targetTrey McBride · 43%
QB carries1.4 a game
Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.
THE SERIES
dogmanrk against ¥ — the men, not the teams
¥ leads it 1-0.
¥ won the last one.
1 meeting
avg 14.0 — 49.0
biggest: 35 pts to ¥
S1 · week 3
dogmanrk 14 — 49 ¥
¥
Only meetings Sapphire can attribute to both men are counted — a Madden export never says who owned a team last season, so the series starts where the record does.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES
unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push
Cardinals receivers vs 49ers secondary
79 v 81
EVEN
49ers receivers vs Cardinals secondary
89 v 82
49ERS
Cardinals line vs 49ers front
80 v 87
49ERS
49ers line vs Cardinals front
77 v 80
CARDINALS
Cardinals backs vs 49ers run defence
84 v 84
EVEN
49ers backs vs Cardinals run defence
84 v 78
49ERS
Cardinals passer vs 49ers secondary
74 v 81
49ERS
49ers passer vs Cardinals secondary
90 v 82
49ERS
TOP PERFORMERS
🎬
The Game Recapthis game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›
BOX SCORE
CARDINALS
49ERS
CARDINALS
49ERS
CARDINALS
49ERS
CARDINALS
49ERS
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Beck QB | 10/20 | 141 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 89.7 |
| Jacoby Brissett QB | 5/10 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 71.2 |
49ERS
| PLAYER | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SCK | LNG | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock Purdy QB | 21/33 | 434 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 108.9 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiyah Love HB | 26 | 95 | 3.7 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 55 | 0 |
| Jacoby Brissett QB | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Trey McBride TE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Allgeier HB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
49ERS
| PLAYER | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | BTK | YAC | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brock Purdy QB | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Mike Evans WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey McBride TE | 10 | 162 | 16.2 | 1 | 107 | 0 | 37 |
| Jeremiyah Love HB | 5 | 45 | 9 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 25 |
49ERS
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | YAC | DRP | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Evans WR | 9 | 199 | 22.1 | 4 | 85 | 1 | 41 |
| Oronde Gadsden TE | 4 | 99 | 24.8 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 46 |
| DK Metcalf WR | 4 | 54 | 13.5 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 30 |
| De'Zhaun Stribling WR | 2 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
CARDINALS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Murphy-Bunting CB | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Budda Baker SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Melton CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dadrion Taylor-Demerson FS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mack Wilson Sr MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cody Simon WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaleb Proctor DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eugene Asante MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garrett Williams CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Isaiah Oliver SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Karson Sharar WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Baron Browning LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
49ERS
| PLAYER | TKL | SCK | INT | PD | FF | CMP ALW | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jailin Walker MIKE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashtyn Davis FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Bosa LEDG | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Treydan Stukes FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marques Sigle SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Romello Height LEDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dre Greenlaw WILL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haason Reddick LEDG | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gracen Halton DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Renardo Green CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mykel Williams DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ephesians Prysock CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Owens SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RECENT FORM
Cardinals
L
0–55 vs Seahawks
WK 2
L
6–31 vs Chargers
WK 1
49ers
W
56–35 vs Dolphins
WK 2
W
78–50 vs Rams
WK 1
TEAM STATS
| Cardinals | 49ers | |
|---|---|---|
| 303 | TOTAL YARDS | 447 |
| 207 | PASSING YARDS | 434 |
| 96 | RUSHING YARDS | 13 |
| 2 | SACKS ALLOWED | 0 |
| 0 | SACKS MADE | 3 |
| 1 | GIVEAWAYS | 3 |
| 3 | TAKEAWAYS | 1 |
Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.
ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD
0
CARDINALS
—
1
49ERS