Brock Purdy throws 4 TD passes, 49ers defeat Cardinals despite injuries

The San Francisco 49ers keep losing key players to injuries and still keep winning, thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Brock Purdy.

Purdy threw four touchdown passes, with the first coming on a trick play, and the injury-depleted 49ers held on for a 36-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

San Francisco lost wide receiver Mike Evans to a rib injury in the first half and left tackle Trent Williams to a stinger in the second half, but still managed to hold on to start 3-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.

"It's the NFL, it sucks when your teammates go down, but that's part of the game," Purdy said. "As a quarterback, it's also part of handling that and doing what I can, which is my job."

Purdy is doing that very well with his 10 total touchdowns — pass and rushing — tied for the most in franchise history after three games as he leads the league with a 133.1 passer rating.

"Brock is amazing," linebacker Fred Warner said. "The offense is humming right now. It's our job as a defense to make sure that we handle our business."

The game began well for the Niners before the injuries started mounting and they found themselves in a tight game against the Cardinals (1-2), who have lost 22 of their last 26 games in the division.

Purdy helped ice it when he threw a 20-yard TD pass to George Kittle with 1:31 to play. The Cardinals added a late field goal, but Deebo Samuel recovered an onside kick to seal the win.

Coach Kyle Shanahan dialed up a hook-and-ladder call on San Francisco's third play from scrimmage to turn a precarious third-and-12 from deep in 49ers territory into an 82-yard score. Purdy threw a quick 6-yard pass to Evans, who flipped it back 4 yards to a sprinting Samuel as he was being tackled well short of the first down. Samuel then sprinted down the sideline, ran through a tackle attempt by Budda Baker near midfield and scored to make it 7-0 on an 82-yard play.

"It was crazy because we walked through that play like once this week," Samuel said. "It's kind of crazy. Once I saw Mike catch the ball and there was two guys on him, I was like if I get around here, there won't be anybody. Budda showed up and I showed the speed that people don't think I got."

Purdy then connected on a 23-yard TD pass to Evans on the second drive and the Niners built the lead to 23-6 when Christian McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard run on the opening drive of the second half.

But Arizona fought back as Jacoby Brissett threw two TD passes on the next three possessions, connecting on a 5-yarder to Michael Wilson and a 1-yarder to Jeremiyah Love after the Niners lost the ball on a muffed punt.

But the 49ers answered with a touchdown drive that was aided when Josh Sweat was called for roughing the passer after an apparent third-down stop. Purdy then found Kittle on a 10-yard score to make it 29-20 even though Eddy Pineiro missed his second extra point of the game.

Purdy finished 15 for 27 for 297 yards.

Brissett scored on a 1-yard sneak with 2:51 to play to make it 29-27, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals were hurt by 10 penalties and settling for two field goals on drives to the red zone in the first half.

"Any time in the first half when we got something going, and then we'd have self-inflicted wounds," Brissett said. "Against good teams, it's like being a death wish. Against good teams, you can't do that. You can't beat yourself and try to beat them."

Injuries

49ers: Shanahan had no update on the extent of the injuries, but the one to Evans is most concerning as San Francisco is already without receivers Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson. ... Williams returned to the sideline after being taken off on a cart, but didn't come back into the game. ... LB Dre Greenlaw left in the second half with a quadriceps injury.

Up next

Cardinals: Visit the New York Giants on Sunday.

49ers: Host Denver on Sunday.