Garoppolo fires 4 TD passes as 49ers beat Cards to go 8-0

[November 01, 2019]  Jimmy Garoppolo passed for a season-high 317 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers remained one of two NFL unbeatens with a 28-25 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz.

Emmanuel Sanders had seven catches for 112 yards and his second touchdown reception in as many games since joining the 49ers.

George Kittle, Dante Pettis and Kendrick Bourne also had touchdown catches from Garoppolo, who completed 28 of 37 passes without an interception.

Kittle had 79 receiving yards while playing through a left knee contusion sustained on the first play of the game as the Niners (8-0) extended their best start since 1990, when they won their first 10 and finished 14-2.

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray passed for 241 yards and two touchdowns, and newly acquired running back Kenyan Drake rushed for a season-high 110 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Drake also had 52 yards receiving for the Cardinals (3-5-1), who had won the last eight in the series.
 

Murray completed an 88-yard touchdown pass to rookie Andy Isabella and hit Drake on the two-point conversion to make it 28-25 with 4:53 remaining, but San Francisco converted three third-down plays after taking the kickoff and ran out the clock.

Matt Breida rushed for 78 yards for the Niners, who had given up only two touchdowns in their previous four games.

Drake ran for 36 yards on the first play from scrimmage and completed a six-play drive with a 4-yard run for a quick 7-0 lead. Drake was acquired from Miami in a trade Monday and first practiced Tuesday.

Garoppolo's 30-yard touchdown pass to Kittle tied it with four seconds left in the first quarter, and his 7-yard scoring pass to Bourne on the next possession made it 14-7 at 8:58 of the second quarter.

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers took a 21-7 halftime lead after an unusual sequence in the final seconds of the half. Jeff Wilson was stopped on a running play on fourth down from the 1-yard line with four seconds left, but Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury had called a timeout just before the play. Sanders caught a 1-yard touchdown pass on the redo.

Arizona had 71 yards on its first drive and 10 on its next three possessions in the first half. The Niners' touchdowns came on 59-, 76- and 80-yard drives.

Murray threw a 9-yard scoring pass to KeeSean Johnson before Garoppolo countered with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis for a 28-14 lead with 5:55 left in the third quarter. Zane Gonzalez's 36-yard field goal made it 28-17 with 9:24 remaining.

--Field Level Media

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