San Francisco 49ers: 3 Big takeaways from loss vs. Cardinals in Week 5

The San Francisco 49ers realistic hopes of being competitive are over after a Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Here we look at three takeaways.

The San Francisco 49ers slumped to a 28-18 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, falling to 1-4 on the season and likely killing any hope of this team being competitive in 2018.

San Francisco had shown promise in defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers last week but this was a loss that ranked as arguably the most depressing of the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era as the Niners utterly dominated matters only to be doomed by a series of costly mistakes, and yet more injuries.

Here, we look at three big takeaways from a disheartening Week 5 for the 49ers.

Turnovers turn things ugly

The 49ers had a major edge in almost every statistical category, they ran 92 plays to Arizona’s 49 and completely dominated time of possession, however, this game was decided by the turnover battle, which was won decisively by the Cardinals. While San Francisco’s defense did not force a single turnover, Arizona forced five from the 49ers, rendering the hosts’ control of the football meaningless.

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C.J. Beathard twice had the ball stripped from him, his second fumble returned for a touchdown by Josh Bynes that iced the game for the Cardinals, and was also intercepted twice — though one of those picks bounced off the hands of Pierre Garcon.

Raheem Mostert was too guilty of a turnover when he fumbled a play after Matt Breida left the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter in what was an error-strewn game from a team whose season has been defined by undisciplined football and injuries.

Beyond the turnovers, there were other miscues that led to the 49ers demise. They botched an extra point after scoring on the first drive and Robbie Gould also missed a field goal for the first time in 34 attempts. So many potential opportunities slipped through the fingers of the Niners and it was fitting that their faint hopes finally came to an end when George Kittle dropped a pass on a two-point conversion attempt that would have brought them within eight points.

Breida blow highlights another painful day

The injury gods refuse to let up on the 49ers, who lost perhaps their best offensive player when Breida limped from the field. Arizona had struggled to stop Breida both as a runner and a receiver up until his injury and, though Alfred Morris produced an admirable performance, the 49ers run game was never the same and the offense stagnated as a result.

X-rays on Breida’s ankle came back negative and there is hope he can play against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football next week, yet on a day where center Weston Richburg (knee), tight end Garrett Celek (quad), Garcon (shoulder), Reuben Foster (shoulder) and Kittle (knee) were also banged up, that will be cold comfort to a team whose season has been utterly derailed by the injury bug.

Improved defensive effort wasted

When Josh Rosen hit Christian Kirk for a 75-yard touchdown on the Cardinals first offensive play from scrimmage, there was plenty of reason to fear for San Francisco’s much-maligned defense. Things improved significantly for Robert Saleh’s group thereafter, though, with the 28 points the Niners conceded not a reflection on their performance.

Running back David Johnson’s two touchdowns each came after turnovers from the offensive and he was held to just 3.1 yards per carry. Rosen was sacked just once but the 49ers did a decent job of putting him under pressure, the rookie completing only 10 passes for 170 yards in his first road start.

San Francisco’s defense has found it difficult to get off the field for most of the season but had no such problems this week, as demonstrated by the disparity in time of possession.

This was a unit that played well enough to win but was let down by the mistakes on offense. The Niners have yet to play a complete game in 2018 and, with the Packers and Los Angeles Rams on the horizon for this beat-up roster, it would be a surprise to see them produce one anytime soon.