49ers lose the lead again in the 4th quarter: quick reactions

It was a hot day in Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers had a hot first half in all three phases of the game. But that changed in the second half and the 49ers lost a game they should have won easily for the second time this season, losing to the Arizona Cardinals 24-23. And now the 49ers are 2-3 on the season.

Here are my quick reactions from the game. These are my live observations, good and bad, as things unfolded. If you're squeamish, you might not want to read too far into it.

• Brock Purdy does his best, Lamar Jackson on the first drive.

• A three-and-out against a terrible defense is not the right place to start. However, the offense was better as the first half progressed.
• Great punt coverage on the 49ers' first punt. That's good to see. And a little surprising.
• The 49ers defense is terrible again. At least for the opening trip.

• I don't like watching De'Vondre Campbell play. At least not for the 49ers. Come back soon, Dre Greenlaw.
• Brandon Aiyuk's first touch is a big one. He would end up having his best game of the season (by far).

• The 49ers' red zone issues continue. More on this below.
• Jake Brendel is not good.
• Jordan Mason has no room to run. But he still managed almost 90 yards rushing. You can find out more about him below.
• Dee Winters punishes people.
• In the first quarter, Purdy became the fastest quarterback to reach 50 career passing touchdowns in franchise history. You may have heard that the 49ers had some good QBs before him.
• Talanoa Hufanga misses too many tackles. He also missed too many games.
• Aiyuk was unguardable today.
• Tom Brady is a Purdy fan. Will he still be there after the game ends?
• Isaac Yiadom had great coverage late in the first half. He forced Arizona into a field goal attempt, which Jordan Elliott blocked and Deommodore Lenoir returned for a touchdown.

• The special forces were better today. The 49ers need more of that.
• Until they gave up a big kick return that forced Jake Moody into a tackle and resulted in an ankle injury for the 49ers kicker. Moody has a severe ankle sprain and will miss some time. Why didn't he just throw that one out of the end zone like he did? This injury will later prove costly.
• Malik Mustapha is an enforcer. If it moves, he will hit it.

• Nick Bosa doesn't just sack quarterbacks. He also intercepts passes.

• Wow, Mitch Wishnowsky, the punter, hit a 26-yard field goal. I didn't see that coming. Will Kyle Shanahan trust him to get it done when the game is on the line?
• Purdy's deflected and intercepted pass was just sloppy. It seemed like he was too careless with that throw.
• The 49ers defense was much better on third down in this game.
• The 49ers' red zone offense allows weaker teams to hang around. (See final result)
• Purdy was outstanding in the first half. Not so much in the second half. That included the big sack he took where he should have thrown the ball away.
• Now the defense is starting to miss tackles. That's not what you want to see when you're maintaining a 10-point lead.
• Mason is a force. What a nasty stiff arm.

• Well – until this fumble. What a terrible time to make a turnover.
• The 49ers defense is feeling the effects of that heat. Even Fred Warner is missing tackles.
• Just as I was getting ready to praise the 49ers' run defense, the second half happened. You can't do anything right.
• Moody's loss was huge. The 49ers had plenty of time to go downfield and kick a game-winning field goal. The problem is that they didn't have a kicker.
• Although they had a chance, they were unable to score a lightning attack. Another pass from Purdy turns into an interception and the game is over. That was ugly.

The 49ers were on pace to score over 40 points in this game after scoring 23 in the first half. They couldn't score in the second half and ruined another game for a bad team. The 49ers' four possessions in the second half went like this:

1. Interception
2. Sales at Downs
3. Fumble
4. Interception

That's not very good. Next up is the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.