The 49ers lose their second straight division game after blowing a lead in the fourth quarter

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t get off to a good start. The offense ended with a three-pointer, and after a 22-yard completion to Trey McBride, Kyler Murray raced around the edge and was in the end zone before the defense could be blamed.

It didn’t take long for the offensive to respond. Brandon Aiyuk caught a 53-yard pass that included yards after the catch, and George Kittle ran alongside him to block.

An 11-yard reception by Deebo Samuel put the 49ers within Arizona’s 10 yards. But after a third-down sack, problems in the red zone cost the team again and the offense had to settle for a field goal.

After forcing a three-pointer, the offense had no problems on its next trip to the red zone. Purdy found Aiyuk for 16 yards, then 19 before rushing for the first down. On 3rd-and-5 from the Cardinals’ 30-yard line, Jauan Jennings did what he usually does and converted for a 13-yard gain. George Kittle found the end zone to give the Niners a 10-7 lead.

But the Cardinals offense had proven they could move the ball. Murray found Marvin Harrison Jr. with a perfect back-shoulder fade for 22 yards on 3rd-and-3. Talanoa Hufanga missed a tackle on a 2nd-and-10 screen that gave Arizona a first down. But two consecutive incompletions against McBride forced Arizona to settle for three points, bringing the score to 10.

Hufanga left the game and went to the locker room with apparent problems with his right wrist. Hufanga continues to be plagued by injuries.

After the first few drives, Aiyuk had 91 of Purdy’s 119 passing yards. On the fourth possession, it was Jordan Mason’s turn. He had the longest rush of his career, 34 yards. It’s hard to believe, but that was the first 30+ yard run of the season for the 49ers.

After Jake Brendel’s holding penalty on 3rd-and-11, Purdy found Aiyuk again for 17 yards. But inside the 10-yard line, the offense stalled again. On 3rd-and-2, Purdy was forced to scramble and couldn’t find an open receiver. So there were three red zone trips, but only one touchdown. That made it 13-10.

The Cardinals beat the 49ers’ defense with an explosive play following a penalty on Jordan Elliott. Trey McBride got behind the defense for a score of 34. Murray’s pass was incomplete on a 3rd & 6 from the 28 yard line after Isaac Yiadom had excellent coverage on Harrison. Yiadom’s pass breakover forced a 45-yard field goal.

Elliott blocked Chad Ryland’s attempt, and Deommodore Lenoir was there, returning the kick 61 yards for a touchdown that gave San Francisco a 20-10 lead. It was quite a swing.

On the ensuing kickoff, Jake Moody had a tackle. That’s never a good thing. In this case, Moody went down and immediately grabbed him by the right ankle. He was helped up and carefully walked off the field before being carried to the locker room. Mitch Wishnowsky is the backup kicker.

Malik Mustapha pulled off a great pass breakup to force a 3rd & 9, but Kyler fought for a first down and the Cardinals were back in field goal range. Mustapha stood in for Hufanga, who had been excluded.

On 2nd-6 from the 24, Nick Bosa made a great play to read a swing screen for an interception. The 49ers were aggressive and had to play for a touchdown without Moody. From Arizona’s 40 yards, Purdy scrambled for 12 yards, found Kittle on third down for 14 yards and we were once again at 3rd and goal. Purdy tried to find Jennings, but to no avail.

Wishnowsky made his first career field goal to give the 49ers a 23-10 halftime lead.

Leonard Floyd sacked Murray early in the second half, and the Cardinals quickly punted. But it wouldn’t be long before their offense returned to the field.

After the combination of Purdy and Aiyuk converted a 3rd-and-12, Purdy’s pass was tipped straight into the air, resulting in an interception. But the defense held firm and gave up almost nothing, so Arizona only scored a field goal and increased the score to 23:13.

Purdy had one of his most obviously magical moments in the pocket when he evaded several rushers and went for a first down. Mason had already run 20 yards on that drive. But on 2nd and 14, Purdy couldn’t pull off another miracle and was sacked. After an incomplete pass, it was 4th-and-23 and the Niners were forced to go for it.

A promising drive ended with no points and it remained a 10-point game. The Niners had dominated time of possession up to that point by more than ten minutes.

The 49ers had a chance to force a long third down, but Ji’Ayir Brown missed Conner in the open field. Arizona scored gains of 10, 10 and 11 on the ensuing drive, again negating the Niners defense’s success on early downs.

Conner had a strong series and began to wear out the defense, as evidenced by his 14-yard run for a first-and-goal from San Francisco’s two-yard line. A touchdown and a two-point conversion made it 23-21, and we were in for a thrill.

Shanahan attempted a failed putback where it seemed like the offense was getting too sweet. This came after a nine-yard gain and Mason sent the Cardinals stiff into the ground after a 20-yard gain. On 2nd-and-10, Purdy hit Aiyuk for another 20 yards.

The 49ers once again found themselves in a 3rd & 6 situation inside the red zone. Kittle made a tackle to keep the offense on the field and give the Niners a score-to-go situation. Jordan Mason fumbled on the ensuing play, and the defense, which had given up points on consecutive drives, had to hold or the Cardinals would have the lead.

This was the second time in as many possessions that the 49ers were inside Arizona’s 30-yard line and failed to score. This will haunt you every day of the week.

Conner broke through early in the drive, gaining six, three and eight yards. Murray let Michael Wilson open deep after beating Charvarius Ward with a double move, but he out-hit Wilson.

On 4th and 5, with the game essentially hanging in the balance, Murray threw a fadeaway while Floyd was unblocked and Harrison came down with the first-down reception. Isaac Yiadom was in coverage. Conner’s run just before the two-minute warning actually helped the 49ers as he ran for the first down.

The offense would have 1:32 to play from the San Francisco 27-yard line. Ideally, they would need to stay within the 15 yard line. They knew Mitch Wishnowsky’s reach. Unfortunately we never had the opportunity to see Wishnowsky.

It looked like Mason missed the blitz pickup, leaving an unblocked rusher. That player hit Purdy, whose pass flew sky-high into the air and resulted in an interception.

This is the second time in three games this season that the 49ers’ win probability was over 85 percent midway through the fourth quarter and they lost. These typically occur once a season, but the 49ers found a way to blow two division games in less than a month.

They are now 2-3 and have a short week ahead of them as they play the Seattle Seahawks this Thursday.