GLENDALE, Ariz. — One of the most underachieving, disappointing, and downright bizarre seasons in 49ers’ history finally expired Sunday.
Final score: Cardinals 47, 49ers 24.
Final record: 6-11, bad enough for the NFL Draft’s 11th overall pick and the NFC West’s cellar.
Of course, the defending NFC champions 49ers did not make a smooth exit, only adding to their season-long macabre.
Less than two minutes into the game, running back Isaac Guerendo got carted off State Farm Stadium’s field, having sustained knee and ankle injuries on the opening drive.
An even more outlandish departure happened before halftime: wide receiver Jauan Jennings got ejected 25 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season, the result of an end zone brawl with cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, who also got disqualified.
Jennings walked off the field without his helmet or jersey, instead leaving with 52 yards on seven catches and 10 targets from Josh Dobbs, who started in place of the injured Brock Purdy.
Regardless of those lowlights and the season-high 47 points allowed, this finale still stood in starker contrast to last season’s, an overtime loss in the Super Bowl to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Two Sundays ago, the 49ers officially got eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2020. They locked up last place in the NFC West by losing 6-of-7 even before this desert duel against the Cardinals.
Jennings’ exit left rookie Ricky Pearsall as the 49ers’ top target for Dobbs, who connected with the Phoenix native on a 6-yard, third-and-goal touchdown just before halftime, with Jake Moody making the point-after kick to tie the score at 17.
Pearsall uniquely celebrated that third touchdown of his remarkable rookie season: he dramatically clutched his left hand to his right chest, mimicking his actions after getting shot in an Aug. 31 attempted robbery in San Francisco’s Union Square. Symbolically, that celebration made for a full-circle moment to a strange season by the defending NFC champions.
Pearsall (six catches, 69 yards) was Dobbs’ intended target on a fourth-quarter pass that got intercepted with 6:31 remaining, with a replay ruling nullifying a potential pick-six.
Still, it was the Cardinals’ second interception of the game, and, conversely, the 49ers defense had no interceptions for the seventh straight game.
Dobbs passed for 326 yards (29-of-43) with two touchdown passes, a second-quarter touchdown run, and a lost fumble in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Juszczyk caught Dobbs’ second touchdown pass for a 26-24 third-quarter deficit, with Juszczyk diving across the goal line near the left pylon on the 36-yard score. It was his second touchdown catch in as many games, for a nice finish to his ninth straight Pro Bowl season.
The 49ers’ defense, under first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, allowed 24 rushing touchdowns this season, one shy of the franchise’s single-season record. Michael Carter’s 4-yard TD run puts the Cardinals ahead 33-24, and Tony Jones Jr.’s 46-yard scoring streak made it 47-24 with 1:47 to spare.
While their defense yielded 40 points for the second straight game (40-34 loss Monday to Detroit), the 49ers offense struggled behind a patchwork line and without its 2023 mainstays. Missing at the end: Purdy; running backs Guerendo, Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason; wide receivers Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel; and offensive linemen Trent Williams, Aaron Banks and Colton McKivitiz, the latter of whom was carted off in the finale’s fourth quarter.
Other casualties Sunday: safeties Talanoa Hufanga (concussion) and Malik Mustapha (knee), cornerback Renardo Green (groin), and, wide receiver Chris Conley (elbow).
Still playing on defense at the end of the third quarter were season-long starters Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins, and Charvarius Ward, the latter of whom allowed a touchdown catch with 5:47 remaining.
Murray seized on the 49ers’ unthreatening defense for four touchdown passes, with two going to Greg Dortch against nickel back Nick McCloud’s coverage and the other score finding tight end Trey McBride. The 49ers did not sack Murray, despite efforts by Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd, who finished this season with nine and 8 1/2 sacks, respectively.
So much of the 49ers’ opening drive Sunday featured hallmarks of this season: a major injury (to Guerendo), and an inability to score a touchdown, although Jake Moody did briefly pause his sophomore slump to make a 51-yard field goal in line-drive fashion for a 3-0 lead.
Moody missed a 47-yard attempt on the 49ers’ second drive, marking his ninth miss in 20 field-goal attempts since a high-ankle injury in the 49ers’ Oct. 6 home loss to Arizona. He made 13-of-14 prior to that injury from an attempted tackle.
Another special-teams gaffe followed, when the Cardinals pulled off a fake punt for a 22-yard gain by DeeJay Dallas, who split Jake Tonges and Jalen Grahm. Arizona parlayed that into their first points: a 51-yard, game-tying field goal by Chad Ryland.
More 49ers’ offensive ineptitude followed, when Dobbs got intercepted by Murphy-Bunting near midfield when trying to target Jennings in one-on-one coverage.
Needing 77 yards to reach 1,000 yards for the first time in his four seasons, Jennings gathered 52 yards on seven catches and 10 targets. Jennings had his helmet off and was talking to coach Kyle Shanahan on the field, a few yards from the 49ers’ sideline, before the officials announced the ejections. Shanahan then appeared to appeal to referee Shawn Smith, to no avail.
Jennings was escorted off the field by 49ers security czar Mike Anderson, who three games earlier ushered De’Vondre Campbell to the locker room after the ninth-year linebacker refused to enter against the Rams and was ordered off the field by general manager John Lynch.
Jennings exited the field just as Dobbs plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown run, and Moody made the ensuing point-after kick to tie the score at 10. The Cardinals answered with a touchdown of their own, a 2-yard pass from Kyler Murray to Trey McBride with 1:51 until halftime.
Purdy, who grew up 40 miles from here in Queen Creek, did not play because of last Monday night’s throwing-elbow injury in their 40-34 home loss to the Detroit Lions.
For all the others’ aches and pains, it’s worth noting Warner started every game, despite a Week 4 ankle injury that involved a fracture. Floyd, Collins, Puni, McKivitz, center Jake Brendel were the only other 17-game starters.
Four months ago, it began with a 32-19 home rout of Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets under the Sept. 9 “Monday Night Football” spotlight. Tempering that triumph was McCaffrey’s pregame scratch from the lineup because of Achilles’ issues that would sideline him two months; his enusing comeback lasted just 3 1/2 games before a knee injury in the 49ers’ 35-10 loss at Buffalo on Nov. 1.
They lost double-digit players to injured reserve, and they finished with double-digit losses in a season that can’t simply be dismissed over a Super Bowl-loss hangover. But now the 49ers can turn their focus to the next NFL season, which ends at Levi’s Stadium in Super Bowl 60 with or without them.