The 49ers ended their season with a blowout loss on Sunday to the Cardinals.
The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their season with a 47-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, falling to 6-11 in their second-to-worst finish under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
It was a tight battle through the first half, as San Francisco trailed 20-17 at halftime. But, as has been the case for many games this season, the 49ers collapsed in the second half, giving up a season-high 47 points en route to the blowout defeat.
Offensively, the 49ers ran the ball well even without starting running back Isaac Guerendo, but turned the ball over three times in the loss.
Defensively, San Francisco had zero answers, giving up four touchdown drives on six opportunities in the second half en route to their worst scoring output of the season.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 47-24 loss to the Cardinals.
Second half collapse
We’ve heard this story before, haven’t we?
The 49ers went into halftime with a fighter’s chance, down just 20-17 after an impressive two-minute drill was capped with a six-yard touchdown pass from Josh Dobbs to Ricky Pearsall.
Of course, they did manage to give up a field goal in 15 seconds, but the 49ers got a stop to start the second half, earning a chance to take the lead on their first possession of the third quarter.
Well, they couldn’t generate any offense and things started to turn downhill from there. The Cardinals moved the ball with ease, scoring on back-to-back touchdown drives. San Francisco did respond with a score of their own in between Arizona’s two chances, but still trailed by multiple scores heading into their first drive of the fourth quarter.
At first, it seemed like this one was going to be a ballgame. But, after driving 55 yards down the field, Josh Dobbs fumbled at the Arizona 27-yard line, killing a potential scoring opportunity for the 49ers. The Cardinals couldn’t do anything with it, but got a quick interception on the following drive, capping that chance off with a touchdown to make it 40-24.
After the 49ers turned it over on downs, Arizona finished things off with a 46-yard touchdown from Tony Jones, sealing the deal at 47-24.
Regardless of who has played this year, the 49ers have struggled to come out on top and win in the second half. That’s led to a number of losses and they added one more to the list on Sunday.
Special Teams miscues
Were special teams a big part of why the 49ers lost? Not necessarily.
But, kicker Jake Moody missed yet another field goal between 40-49 yards, which came one drive after hitting a 51-yard field goal, summarizing his inconsistent year. Moody moved to 6/11 between 40-49 yards on the season and 24/34 (70.6 percent) on the year, which ranks 38th among kickers.
The 49ers drafted Moody in the third round last year because of his big leg and ability to play in the clutch at Michigan. Well, after a middling rookie season, the second-year kicker has become one of the worst kickers in the NFL, and has made just 10/20 of his kicks beyond 40 yards.
San Francisco cannot go into 2025 with Moody as their solidified kicker. They either need to fully kick the can or more realistically bring in competition for the former third-rounder because that level of inconsistent play isn’t good enough if you’re trying to be a contender.
The 49ers had multiple special teams miscues, however, as they also gave up a 22-yard fake punt on Arizona’s second drive, resulting in a field goal.
For some reason, special teams have consistently been a problem over the last few seasons. Once again, it’ll be a big area of improvement heading into the offseason.
Lone bright spot
If you wanted to take a positive from the game for the 49ers, look no further than their first-round rookie Ricky Pearsall, who built off his 141-yard game with six catches for 69 yards and another touchdown.
After a six-game stretch where Pearsall was used very sparingly in the passing game, the rookie took it to another gear to wrap up the year, leading the way for San Francisco in the receiving game in both outings.
Pearsall’s potential as a complement to Brandon Aiyuk in 2025 looks promising, as he’ll look to get a more stable role that should come with its fair share of 1-on-1 opportunities next year.
Pearsall will end his rookie season with exactly 400 receiving yards and three touchdowns off 31 catches, and this game came with an early explosive, as well as a nice touchdown grab for his third-career score.
On another side note about bright spots, the 49ers draft slot is looking awfully enticing heading into the offseason.