The 49ers' poor tackling and ineffective offense stood out against the Cardinals

A loss and great injuries.

This is an almost weekly occurrence for the San Francisco 49ers, as they will be without kicker Jake Moody (high ankle sprain), defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and perhaps safety Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) for the foreseeable future.

Kyle Shanahan had no update on Hufanga when he spoke to reporters at 8:45 a.m. PT on Monday, which is nearly seven hours earlier than he typically speaks the day after a game, and the team's abbreviated schedule this week ahead of their ” Thursday” highlights Night Football” game against the Seattle Seahawks.

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49ers aim for quick turnaround as red zone woes continue: 'Blessing in disguise'

The 49ers' defense played 58 snaps – compared to 64 on offense – against the Arizona Cardinals, the fourth time this season that unit was under the 60-snaps mark. Of course, these snaps were taken in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, and Shanahan said there was a heavy emphasis on hydration Sunday night and Monday, especially with the Seahawks coming up on Thursday.

The 49ers will have a glorified walk-through practice on Tuesday before heading to Seattle the next day.

Here's how the individual snaps against the Cardinals were broken down:

Quarterback: Brock Purdy 64

Purdy completed just 54.3 percent of his passes, his lowest mark this season. He had a particularly difficult time finding targets in the deep red zone, going 8 of 17 (47 percent) inside the Cardinals' 25-yard line. The 49ers rank 30th in red zone touchdown percentage after finishing first last season.

Tight end George Kittle briefly had the ball in his hands on a throw into the end zone in the first quarter, but it would have been a tough catch. On another quick option throw to Kittle, who was charging toward the pylon in the second quarter, Purdy's throw was too high and outside, leaving Kittle short of the goal line. The Cardinals' pressure forced the quarterback to throw off his back foot.

George Kittle was a frequent target for Brock Purdy in the red zone on Sunday and nearly scored that touchdown in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/b6BHvt5ahs

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 7, 2024

Who was Purdy looking for in the red zone? Kittle was targeted for a touchdown on seven of 18 red zone attempts; Jauan Jennings was targeted four times, all incomplete.

Over the past three weeks, Purdy has taken a long time to get rid of the ball, with that time attributable to several epic battles. His time to throw on Sunday was 3.18 seconds. His throwing time this season is 3.15 seconds, the fastest in the NFL.

Running back: Jordan Mason 41, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 40, Isaac Guerendo 9, Deebo Samuel Sr. 5

Who says Mason is just a power back? According to Next Gen Stats, he reached 21.21 mph on his 34-yard run in the second quarter, the eighth-fastest speed of Week 5.

To put that in perspective, Kyler Murray reached 21.27 mph on his 50-yard touchdown run. Even faster: Deommodore Lenoir, who reached a high of 21.33 on his 61-yard return of a blocked punt.

Mason's fumble in the fourth quarter was just the second of his career (Week 2 at Minnesota) and the first he lost.

Shanahan said Christian McCaffrey will continue his rebuilding work this week. There is no plan to take him off injured reserve during the short week, although he is eligible to come off at any time.

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Wide receiver: Brandon Aiyuk 59, Samuel 47, Jennings 36, Ronnie Bell 10, Trent Taylor 2

The rule of thumb for Aiyuk: The 49ers tend to target him against teams that play man coverage, which the Cardinals faced frequently on Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, Aiyuk's 12 goals were his most ever in a game where Samuel also played the entire game.

Purdy missed the target on his first attempt against Aiyuk, but they scored on the next six. The seventh throw probably should have been completed as well, but a high throw from Purdy failed at the receiver's hands. Aiyuk's 147 passing yards were the most for him since he had 156 in Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

Shanahan said Chris Conley (oblique) and Jacob Cowing (shoulder) would be day-to-day this week. Neither played against the Cardinals.

Tight end: Kittle 58, Eric Saubert 13

Despite battling a rib injury, Kittle was a key player in the passing game, including on Sunday when, like Aiyuk, he was targeted 12 times. According to Fantasy Points Data, he leads the team with a 0.25 targets per route pass rate.

Offensive line: Trent Williams 64, Aaron Banks 64, Jake Brendel 64, Dominick Puni 64, Colton McKivitz 64

The 49ers' last-minute push was thwarted when Purdy was hit on his throw and Arizona intercepted the resulting missed throw. But it wasn't a bad protection day for the offensive line. The Cardinals brought in an extra rusher on that play and he scored before Purdy could get rid of the ball.

“They had a blitz,” Shanahan said. “If two guys attack from behind, that means you’re hot. And we just have to get rid of the ball quicker.”

CARDINAL!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/d7nfKh9Gpn

– NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

According to Pro Football Focus, Williams and Puni each gave up three quarterback pressures, but no offensive lineman gave up a sack.

QB pressure allowed

• Puni 3
• Williams 3
• Banks 2
• Brendel 2
• McKivitz 2
• Kitten 1

Defense line: Nick Bosa 45, Maliek Collins 38, Leonard Floyd 36, Jordan Elliott 28, Kevin Givens 25, Sam Okuayinonu 24, Kalia Davis 19, Robert Beal Jr. 13, TY McGill 11.

James Conner finished with 86 rushing yards. According to PFF, 74 of those yards came after contact.

The 49ers had 12 missed tackles. Three were committed by Bosa, who was active against the run – four tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage – but like all the others, he bounced off Conner's legs.

Missed tackles

Davis played 19 snaps after being activated from injured reserve on Saturday, but did not register any official stats in the game. Shanahan said Gross-Matos, who went on IR Saturday, had surgery on the knee he injured in the preseason finale in Las Vegas. The 49ers had hoped the rest problem would subside, but that didn't happen. He is expected to miss between one and two months.

Linebackers: Fred Warner 58, Campbell 58, Dee Winters 26

Shanahan said Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf) would not play this week, which should ensure Winters continues to play the strong-side linebacker role. The question is whether he will begin to understand Campbell's vulnerability role, which he began to do in Week 3. The Cardinals were 4 of 4 when targeting Campell in the passing game and opponents were 21 of 25 for 205 yards when targeting him this season.

The 49ers brought Campbell and others on numerous blitzes Sunday. According to Fantasy Points Data, they hit 36.4 percent of dropbacks, the 10th-highest rate in Week 5, after hitting 16 percent of dropbacks in the first four weeks, the third-lowest rate.

But those blitzes didn't always slow Murray (see below) on Sunday and haven't been effective this year. Opponents completed 67.7 percent of their passes for 396 yards when the 49ers blitzed. They have allowed a passer rating of 150.2 when blitzing, the worst in the league.

Security: Brown 56, Mustapha 47, Hufanga 11, George Odum 4

It wasn't a strong day for the safeties. Hufanga missed an early ankle tackle on Conner at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, while Brown suffered a similar fate in the third quarter. In total, the safeties missed four tackles and Hufanga was unable to be the “eraser” on Murray's opening touchdown run.

What happened to Kyler Murray's TD? Too many 49ers bought the first fake, including Talanoa Hufanga and Fred Warner. That's the corner of Warner's helmet peeking out from behind Maliek Collins, who was thrown off the play. Meanwhile, De'Vondre Campbell wasn't quick enough pic.twitter.com/G1MWFUR2G9

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 7, 2024

Hufanga may have injured his wrist on Conner's missed tackle because Mustapha was there on the next snap and played the rest of the game. Shanahan had no news on Hufanga Monday morning. If the 49ers only have Brown, Mustpaha and Odum at the position, they could either sign rookie Jaylen Mahoney off the practice squad or re-sign veteran Tracy Walker III, who was with the team in September.

Cornerback: Lenoir 56, Ward 55, Isaac Yiadom 27, Renardo Green 1

Shanahan praised Murray for his fourth-and-5 heave to Marvin Harrison Jr. on the Cardinals' game-winning drive. The 49ers brought a blitz attack and pounced on Murray, who threw it to a spot he knew Harrison would hit.

“We had a direct hit,” he said. “(I) thought it was a really good defense, but incredible play from their quarterback. He didn’t let anyone block him there and he just backed off, retreated, surrendered and found the right man to keep him on the field.”

The completion for Harrison came against Yiadom, who again served as the team's No. 3 cornerback after trading snaps against Green last week. Yiadom had a good game. That was the only completion he allowed, and there was also a pass breakup in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Lenoir also only allowed one completion for 0 yards. However, Ward dropped three catches for 75 yards and a passer rating of 116.7 when he was targeted.

Special teams: Saubert 19, Odum 19, Jalen Graham 14, Tatum Bethune 14, Guerendo 14, Yiadom 13, Patrick Taylor Jr. 12, Jake Tonges 12, Mustapha 9, Rock Ya-Sin 9, Moody 8, Green 8, Mitch Wishnowsky 7, Okuayinonu 7, Winters 7, McKivitz 5, Puni 5, Jaylon Moore 5, Nick Zakelj 5, Spencer Burford 5, Banks 5, Collins 5, Campbell 5, Elliott 5, Givens 5, Lenoir 5, Brown 5, Warner 5, Trent Taylor 2 , Juszczyk 1, Bell 1

Only Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys has made more field goals (14) than Moody (13) this season, and Moody is by far the team's leading scorer. He has 51 points so far. There is a three-way tie for second place between Jennings, Kittle and Mason, who have 18 points. Last year's top scorer: McCaffrey with 126.

Shanahan said the 49ers will have four kickers test out on Monday. Expect one of them to be on the roster in time for Thursday's game in Seattle.

(Photo: Hearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)