GLENDALE, Ariz. — The 49ers defense had a great performance until when it mattered most.
The 49ers lost in a heart breaking fashion again, with an 18-15 loss to the Cardinals. The defense actually played one of its better games of the season, but let their foot off the pedal with a few minutes left in the game.
The game started out with the 49ers scoring their first defensive points since facing the facing the Chargers in Week 4. The Cardinals were backed up against their own end zone when Cassius Marsh, DeForest Buckner and Ronald Blair collapsed the pocket. Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen was called for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
In the second quarter, the 49ers registered their first two takeaways since, again, Week 4. Safety Jaquiski Tartt redeemed his missed interception from the previous week, snagging a Rosen pass that looked like it was intended for him.
Later, in the fourth quarter the 49ers managed their second takeaway when Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham fumbled the ball as Tyvis Powell tackled him. After review, it was determined that after going out of bounds, Jimmie Ward did not touch the football. Fred Warner recovered the ball, and the 49ers re-gained possession.
The 49ers' defense held David Johnson to 59 yards rushing, and the rest of the Cardinals to 88 total rushing yards. They held wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to 21 yards through the first three quarters.
Then, with 2:16 left in the game, the 49ers couldn’t stop Rosen and his receivers. Rosen and his offense put together a 12 play, 73 yard drive that gave the Cardinals the lead. He threw to four different receivers and capped the drive with a 2-point conversion to make it a three point game, and the win.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Buckner and the rest of the defensive line got pressure on the Rosen until late in the game.
“We had the advantage the whole game,” Buckner said. “The defense was playing lights-out the whole game. We just couldn’t finish it off at the end. With two minutes, that’s on us. We practice that stuff every week. Up front, personally, I have to do a better job trying to help my team get a stop.”
Richard Sherman also spoke about needing to finish.
“They just made more plays than us down the stretch,” Sherman said. “That’s all it really came down to. In the fourth quarter, we had them on third down, even on the goal line we had them on third down, and they made another play. We’ve got to find a way to finish better in that situation.”
The 49ers will have to regroup quickly to prepare to face another one-win team on Thursday when the Raiders head to Levi’s Stadium.