Cardinals conjure up dramatic victory in San Francisco

THE STORY: SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Kyler Murray was still in full uniform as he climbed to the podium to speak to the media on Sunday.

“I'm tired,” he said quietly.

But the quarterback still had a small smile on his face. That fatigue was good fatigue, the byproduct of an emotional but joyful 24-23 comeback victory over the defending NFC champion 49ers at Levi's Stadium. The outlook has been bleak on several occasions. But the Cardinals still found a way.

“(A win) does wonders for us,” Murray said.

It will be the last drive that hangs, a drive that only happened because linebacker Jesse Luketa – who has not played yet this season – released the ball inside the Cardinals 10. Fellow linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. fell on the ball and what looked like a 49ers TD drive was not.

Then came a lot of James Conner, who got the Cardinals (2-3) going. There was Marvin Harrison Jr., who played no role for most of the game and made a 14-yard catch on fourth-and-5 to keep hopes alive. There was Chad Ryland, a practice squad kicker signed just this week because of Matt Prater's injury, who hit a 35-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a one-point lead.

And then there was safety Jalen Thompson, who beat 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy on a blitz as Purdy threw, leaving the ball suspended in the air just long enough for linebacker Kyzir White to dive and seal the glorious score.

“My eyes got really big,” White said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to manifest all year.”

There was a big celebration in the locker room.

“There was no panic,” said coach Jonathan Gannon, who himself looked exhausted but in a positive way. The Cardinals started so well – once again. Force a three-and-out by the 49ers (3-2). They scored on their first drive, in just two plays. A 22-yard pass to tight end Trey McBride, and then Kyler Murray kept a read option and scored a 50-yard touchdown.

The play worked so well that Murray gestured that he knew he would score at the San Francisco 44.

But the 49ers blocked a Ryland field goal attempt for a touchdown in the first half, and defensive end Nick Bosa made a fabulous interception of a Murray screen pass, setting up a field goal. It was 23-10 at halftime and Murray admitted: “I was frustrated.”

However, the defense never collapsed and threw a shutout in the second half to give the Cardinals a chance. Gannon was almost over the moon when he talked afterwards about the defense's work in the red zone – the 49ers were just 1 for 6 and were the difference in the game.

Aside from Murray, the Cardinals' running game wasn't effective all day, but Conner stepped up. He finished the game with 86 yards on 19 carries and punished the 49ers on the final drive.

“That’s what we want,” Conner said. “My job is to put the ball in the right place.

“If you stick with it, the game will reward you.”

The drive came to a halt and Murray admitted, “I hated it.” The idea was to run down the clock so Ryland's kick came on the final play of the game.

But White and his fellow defensemen were there.

“A terrible performance last week and we put it on the back burner,” White said. “We fought. Sometimes we got punched in the mouth, but we always hit back.”