SANTA CLARA — Another fourth-quarter collapse led to another 49ers’ loss against an NFC West rival on Sunday.
Two weeks after faltering on the road to the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers blew a 10-point lead and exited with a 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, who went ahead on a 35-yard field goal with 1 1/2 minutes to go.
The 49ers (2-3) could not respond in kind, not when Brock Purdy had a pass deflected and intercepted for the second time on a staggering hot day at Levi’s Stadium, where the temperature was a record 89 degrees at kickoff.
The 49ers now have their quickest turnaround yet this season, with a visit Thursday night to first-place Seattle. The 49ers are 0-2 in NFC West action, having turned a 24-14 lead at Los Angeles into a 27-24 defeat two weeks ago.
The 49ers had positioned themselves for a strong yet strange divisional win Sunday, up until a couple of key plays triggered their demise.
No mistake loomed larger than Jordan Mason’s first career lost fumble. It came a most inopportune time and place: at the Cardinals’ 11-yard line with 6:11 remaining. The 49ers led 23-21 at that point, but the Cardinals (2-3) responded with their game-winning drive.
Another play that contributed mightily to the 49ers’ losing approach: kicker Jake Moody exited with an ankle injury just before halftime. Moody had to make the tackle on a kickoff that followed Deommodore Lenoir’s touchdown on a 61-yard return of a blocked field goal, which put the 49ers ahead 19-10.
That lead climbed to 23-10 when fill-in kicker Mitch Wishnowsky hit a 26-yard field goal as the first half expired, and those points were how the 49ers’ capitalized off Nick Bosa’s second career interception.
The temperature rose to 98 degrees by 3:34 p.m., when the 49ers saw their 10-point lead cut to 23-21. Kyler Murray completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Higgins, followed by a James Conner 2-point conversion run.
Murray finished with 82 rushing yards (seven carries) and 195 passing yards (19-of-30, one touchdown, one interception).
Purdy, aside from the two interceptions, completed 19-of-35 passes for 244 yards, with a first-quarter touchdown pass to George Kittle and a season-best connection with Brandon Aiyuk (eight catches, 147 yards).
Mason (14 carries, 89 yards) was on the cusp of his fourth 100-yard game in five career starts in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey. Mason wouldn’t get his hands on the ball again in the 49ers’ two snaps after his fumble.
Four drives before halftime had the 49ers at first-and-goal, with only one resulting in a touchdown (4-yard pass to George Kittle). Two ended with Moody field goals (28 and 20 yards), and the other score came on Mitch Wishnowsky’s 26-yard field goal as Moody’s replacement.
The 49ers’ second touchdown – and a 20-10 lead — came from the most unlikeliest source this season: special teams. Lenoir scored it on a 61-yard return of a field-goal attempt blocked by Jordan Elliott.
More special-teams chaos followed. Moody injured his right ankle making the tackle on the ensuing kickoff. That forced punter (and Moody’s usual holder) Wishnowsky into action as he nonchalantly nailed a 26-yard field goal that sent the 49ers into halftime with a 23-10 lead.
Setting up those points was Nick Bosa’s second career interception. Bosa lined up at left defensive end, took three steps, halted his pass rush, jumped up at the 30-yard line and snagged Murray’s lob toward running back James Conner. Bosa chugged 30 yards up field before getting tackle and ending his first interception return since 2019 rookie season’s against Carolina.
Moody wasn’t the first half’s only casualty. Hufanga left with a wrist injury on a second-quarter drive, one in which the Cardinals settled for a field goal once Malik Mustapha played strong red zone defense in place of Hufanga. Also hurt before halftime was safety Ji’Ayir Brown (ankle).
Moody’s right toe appeared to get stuck in the turf then twisted under his weight as he made the tackle on the Cardinals’ 39-yard kick return. Moody walked off to the sideline but was carted to the locker room before halftime.
The 49ers went ahead 10-7 late in the first quarter when George Kittle caught a quick 4-yard dart (vs. linebacker Mack Wilson) to end a 13-play, 76-yard drive. Keeping that series alive were third-down catches by Brandon Aiyuk (16 yards) and Jauan Jennings (13 yards), but not to be overlooked were an 8-yard scramble by Purdy to the 35, and a 13-yard catch by Aiyuk at the 4-yard line on the snap before Kittle’s touchdown.
The Cardinals pulled even at 10 on Ryland’s 30-yard field goal, after backup safety Malik Mustapha filled in well with red zone pass defenses in place of Talanoa Hufanga, who left with a right wrist injury.
Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk hooked up for their biggest connection of the season on a 53-yard catch-and-run to open the 49ers’ second series. Aiyuk accounted for a season-high 115 yards among Purdy’s 165-yard total in the first half.
The 49ers quickly staked the Cardinals to a 7-0 lead, with Murray racing through the defense on a 50-yard scramble on his second snap. Murray, on a zone-read keeper, split DeVondre Campbell and Charvarius Ward for a clear path down the right sideline, with Hufanga caught out of position when he bit on an inside run.
