49ers tight end George Kittle’s fumble helped the Cardinals build a lead in the first half of Sunday’s game and he helped his team start to whittle that lead down just before halftime.
Kittle grabbed a six-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo for a touchdown in the final seconds of the second quarter. The touchdown capped a frustrating first half for the Niners by cutting their deficit to 17-7 heading into the second half.
In addition to Kittle’s fumble, the 49ers also lost the ball when wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was stripped by linebacker Isaiah Simmons after taking the ball inside the Cardinals’ 10-yard line. Those miscues have helped the Cardinals weather the absences of quarterback Kyler Murray, running back Chase Edmonds (who was hurt on the first play of the game) and wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green.
Colt McCoy hit Christian Kirk for 50 yards to set up a field goal and Kirk threw a 33-yard pass to Antoine Wesley to set up James Conner’s second rushing touchdown of the day. McCoy is 12-of-15 for 145 yards overall while Garoppolo is 12-of-16 for 154 yards. Garoppolo’s also been sacked twice, including one from Chandler Jones that makes him the franchise’s all-time leader in that stat. He lifted his jersey to show a t-shirt honoring the late Freddie Joe Nunn, who had been the standard bearer before Jones.
