SANTA CLARA — Another fourth-quarter collapse led to another 49ers loss against an NFC West rival on Sunday.
Two weeks after faltering on the road to the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers blew another 10-point lead and exited with a 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who went ahead on a 35-yard field goal with 1 1/2 minutes to go.
The 49ers (2-3) could not respond in kind, not when Brock Purdy had a pass deflected and intercepted for the second time on a staggeringly hot day at Levi’s Stadium, where the temperature was a record 89 degrees at kickoff.
“It’s early in the season. We’re still trying to find our true identity as a team,” Purdy said. “We’re getting there. We’re still a couple of plays and a couple of drives away from gelling.”
The 49ers now have their quickest turnaround yet this season, with a visit Thursday night to first-place Seattle. The 49ers are 0-2 in NFC West action, having turned a 24-14 lead at Los Angeles into a 27-24 defeat two weeks ago.
“That’s all we tlaked about in (the locker room). We’d love to sit here and get pissed, but you can’t do anything about them when they end,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I told the guys next time we can do something about it is Thursday.”
The 49ers had positioned themselves for a strong yet strange divisional win Sunday, up until a couple of key plays (see: turnovers) triggered their demise.
No mistake loomed larger than Jordan Mason’s first career lost fumble. It came a most inopportune time and place: at the Cardinals’ 11-yard line with 6:11 remaining. The 49ers led 23-21 at that point, but the Cardinals (2-3) responded with their game-winning drive.
“When fighting for extra yards, you have to be careful with the ball. He got a little careless with it,” Shanahan said.
Another play that contributed mightily to the 49ers’ losing approach: Kicker Jake Moody exited with a high-ankle injury just before halftime while making a tackle on a kickoff. That left punter Mitch Wishnowsky having to fill-in as the emergency kicker, and although he nailed his only attempt (26 yards to end the first half), the 49ers did not trust him kicking longer than beyond a point-after range of 32 yards.
The 49ers now must sign a new kicker to fill in until Mooday is healthy. His injury came one play after Deommodore Lenoir’s touchdown on a 61-yard return of a blocked field goal put the 49ers ahead 20-10.
That lead climbed to 23-10 when Wishnowsky hit a 26-yard field goal as the first half expired, capitalizing on Nick Bosa’s second career interception. Bosa lined up at left defensive end, took three steps, halted his pass rush, jumped up at the 30-yard line and snagged Murray’s lob toward running back James Conner. Bosa chugged 30 yards upfield before getting tackle and ending his first interception return since his 2019 rookie season.
The temperature rose to 98 degrees by 3:34 p.m., when the 49ers saw their 10-point lead cut to 23-21. Kyler Murray completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Higgins, followed by a Conner 2-point conversion run.
Murray finished with 82 rushing yards (seven carries) and 195 passing yards (19-of-30, one touchdown, one interception).
Purdy, aside from the two interceptions, completed 19-of-35 passes for 244 yards, with a first-quarter touchdown pass to George Kittle and a season-best connection with Brandon Aiyuk (eight catches, 147 yards).
Before his fumble, Mason (14 carries, 89 yards) was on the cusp of his fourth 100-yard game in five career starts in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey.
Four drives before halftime had the 49ers at first-and-goal, with only one resulting in a touchdown (4-yard pass to George Kittle). Two ended with Moody field goals (28 and 20 yards), and the other score came on Wishnowsky’s 26-yarder.
The 49ers’ only other points came on Lenoir’s return of the field goal blocked by Jordan Elliott. They did not score in the second half
Moody wasn’t the first half’s only casualty. Hufanga left with a wrist injury on a second-quarter drive, one in which the Cardinals settled for a field goal to make it 10-10 once Malik Mustapha played strong red zone defense in place of Hufanga. Also hurt before halftime was safety Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle).
Moody’s right toe appeared to get stuck in the turf, then twisted under his weight as he made the tackle on the Cardinals’ 39-yard kick return. Moody walked off to the sideline but was carted to the locker room before halftime.
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The 49ers went ahead 10-7 late in the first quarter when George Kittle caught a quick 4-yard dart to end a 13-play, 76-yard drive. Keeping that series alive were third-down catches by Brandon Aiyuk (16 yards) and Jauan Jennings (13 yards), but not to be overlooked were an 8-yard scramble by Purdy to the 35, and a 13-yard catch by Aiyuk at the 4-yard line on the snap before Kittle’s touchdown.
Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk hooked up for their biggest connection of the season on a 53-yard catch-and-run to open the 49ers’ second series. Aiyuk accounted for a season-high 115 yards among Purdy’s 165-yard total in the first half.
The 49ers quickly staked the Cardinals to a 7-0 lead, with Murray racing through the defense on a 50-yard scramble on his second snap. Murray, on a zone-read keeper, split DeVondre Campbell and Charvarius Ward for a clear path down the right sideline, with Hufanga caught out of position when he bit on an inside run.