The Cardinals defeated the turnover-plagued 49ers 24:23 after a comeback in the second half

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On a sweltering day at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, where temperatures neared 100 degrees, the San Francisco 49ers appeared well on their way to defeating the Heat and the Arizona Cardinals, who came out of halftime with 23 degrees came -10 49ers lead. But with the help of three second-half takeaways and an injury to 49ers kicker Jake Moody, the Cardinals were able to hold the 49ers scoreless in the second half while also surprising the 49ers at home with a 24-23 win.

After making several highlight plays to take the halftime lead, the 49ers capped their second-half drives with two interceptions by Brock Purdy, a fumble by running back Jordan Mason and a turnover on downs that came after Moody tied the game with one Ankle injury left the 49ers without anyone they felt was capable of kicking a long field goal. The Cardinals were able to catch up behind quarterback Kyler Murray, who finished the game with 195 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 19 of 30 passes and 86 yards on 19 carries.

Purdy finished the game with 244 yards on 19 of 35 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had his best game of the season for the 49ers, catching eight passes for 147 yards.

First half

Things couldn't have started much worse for the 49ers, as they started the game with a three-pointer that resulted in leading receiver Jauan Jennings leaving the game with a hand injury (Jennings was scheduled to return later). Then, after starting at their own 28-yard line after the punt, the Cardinals needed just 47 seconds and two plays to take a 7-0 lead when Murray hit a 22-yard pass to tight end trey McBride followed up with a career-long pass followed by a 50-yard touchdown run.

The 49ers answered the touchdown with a splash play of their own as Purdy connected with Aiyuk for a 53-yard gain on the first play of the ensuing possession. But the 49ers couldn't reach the end zone from there and settled for a 28-yard field goal from Moody to cut the Cardinals' lead to 7-3.

After a Cardinals three-and-out, the 49ers took over at their own 24-yard line and extended their momentum with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a Purdy touchdown to tight end George Kittle. Purdy completed three more passes to Aiyuk on the drive, while Jennings also added a 13-yard catch before Purdy caught Kittle from four yards out for a 10-7 lead.

From there, the two teams traded long field goal drives as the Cardinals completed a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal from kicker Chad Ryland, followed by an 11-yard drive. Play drive of 68 yards by the 49ers, which failed inside the 10-yard line and ended with a 20-yard field goal by Moody, increasing the score to 13-10. The Cardinals then pushed into 49ers territory with a five-play, 43-yard drive and were able to tie the game when Ryland lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt with just under five minutes left before halftime . But then the 49ers pulled off their biggest special teams performance of the season so far – a beautiful blocked field goal for a touchdown that extended the 49ers' lead to 20-10. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott extended his arm at the line to block the ball, causing the ball to fly into the hands of cornerback Deommodore Lenore, who ran untouched 61 yards into the end zone.

Moody suffered his injury while trying to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, but for a while it looked like the injury wouldn't come back to haunt the 49ers, who continued to produce highlight plays. This time it was defensive end Nick Bosa's turn, who stopped the Cardinals' next drive with an interception that gave the 49ers the ball in Cardinals territory with less than two minutes left in the half. The Cardinals were facing a 2nd-and-6 from the 49ers' 24-yard line when a Murray pass intended for running back James Conner was intercepted by a leaping Bosa, who then rumbled 30 yards downfield to give the 49ers the ball to the Cardinals' 40-yard line.

The 49ers found themselves in a 1st-and-goal situation after the interception, but had to settle for a field goal after failing to get the ball across the goal line. Moody's injury on the previous kickoff meant that punter Mitch Wishnowsky had to attempt the field goal, but Wishnowsky was able to follow up from 26 yards out as time expired in the half, giving the 49ers a 23-10 lead heading into the locker room to send.

There was plenty of offensive production from both teams in the first half, as the 49ers totaled 249 yards to 206 yards rushing from the Cardinals. Murray accounted for much of the Cardinals' yardage with 131 yards through the air and 66 yards on the ground, while Purdy finished the half with 165 yards on 12 of 23 passing.

Second half

The Cardinals opened the second half with a three-pointer and then got their first takeaway of the game when defensive tackle Roy Lopez deflected a pass from Purdy into the hands of linebacker Mack Wilson for an interception. The Cardinals took over at the 49ers' 25-yard line, but were smothered there by the 49ers' defense and settled for a 42-yard field goal from Ryland to cut the 49ers' lead to 23–13.

The 49ers put together an 11-play, 43-yard drive on their next possession, but felt Moody's absence when they moved inside the Cardinals' 30 and were forced to face a 4th-and-23 from the 27 to score a first down -yard line. The 49ers turned the ball over on downs and the Cardinals took over with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. The Cardinals then launched a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard pass from Murray to tight end Elijah Higgins for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion attempt after the touchdown brought the Cardinals within two points, 23-21.

The 49ers appeared to be on track to answer the touchdown with a touchdown of their own when they moved inside the Cardinals' 10-yard line on the next drive in seven plays, including a 20-yard run by running back Jordan Mason a sore, stiff arm from defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting. But the Cardinals finally got Mason back inside the 10-yard line when linebacker Jesse Luketa forced a Mason fumble, which was recovered by Wilson at the 9-yard line with just over six minutes to play.

The Cardinals converted the fumble into a 14-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Ryland for a 24-23 lead with 1:37 to play. The Cardinals were facing a 4th-and-5 early in the drive when Murray, under pressure on wide receiver Marvin Harrison, managed a game-saving 14-yard completion, then a series of runs by Conner and Murray put the Cardinals within field goal Reach.

After a 27-yard return by Isaac Guerendo, the 49ers took over at their own 27-yard line with no timeouts and 1:32 to play. However, their hopes quickly ended when, after a 15-yard completion to Kittle to start the drive, Purdy floated a pass under pressure and was intercepted at midfield by linebacker Kyzir White, allowing the Cardinals to leave Run out the time and secure victory.

The Cardinals moved to 2-3 with the win, while the 49ers fell to 2-3 with the loss.

Game notes: Sunday's temperatures made the game against the 49ers and Cardinals the hottest in Levi's Stadium history…The 49ers entered Sunday's game as 7.5-point favorites over the Cardinals…In the first half There were three milestones for the 49ers when Purdy became the… The fastest quarterback in franchise history to reach 50 career touchdown passes, while Deebo Samuel reached 300 career receptions and Jennings reached 100 career receptions… The 49ers now have an all-time record of 36-30 against the Cardinals and have won five straight games in the series… In addition to Moody, the 49ers lost safety Talanoa Hufanga to a wrist injury during Sunday's game… Next up is for The 49ers have a game against the NFC West-leading Seahawks (3-2) on Thursday evening. at Lumen Field in Seattle. Kick-off takes place on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET) (broadcast: Prime Video).

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