Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes, hitting 25 of his 35 pass attempts for 242 yards with no interceptions and the Arizona Cardinals concluded their 2024-25 NFL regular season schedule with a decisive 47-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
The Cardinals, coming off a 13-9 loss against the Los Angeles Rams in NFL Week 17, scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to ice the game.
Arizona’s third touchdown of the fourth quarter came on a 46-yard touchdown run from Tony Jones Jr., putting Jones at 101 yards rushing on just six carries.
Starting for the injured James Conner and Trey Benson, Michael Carter carried 17 times for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Tight end Trey McBride had seven catches for 65 yards and touchdown, while receiver Greg Dortch caught two TD passes and finished with four catches for 47 yards.
Marvin Harrison Jr. caught a fourth-quarter TD and finished with 63 yards on five receptions.
The Cardinals finish 8-9 on the season. The 49ers have a record of 6-11.
Who wins NFL Week 18 game?San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals picks, predictions
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Murray throws 4th TD
Kyler Murray hit Marvin Harrison Jr. with a 12-yard TD strike to boost the Arizona lead to 40-24 with 5:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals turned back a nine-play 55-yard 49ers drive when Dadrion Taylor-Demerson stripped quarterback Joshua Dobbs and Jalen Thompson recovered at the Cardinal’s 27-yard line.
Murray’s third-and-4 pass intended for Trey McBride was broken up, forcing an Arizona punt, but on San Francisco’s next series, a Dobbs pass went off receiver Ricky Pearsall’s hands and was picked off by Kei’Trel Clark a the 49ers 39. A 24-yard pass interference penalty moved the Cardinals to the Niners 12.
Murray connected with Marvin Harrison Jr. on the next play, Murray’s fourth scoring strike of the day and Harrison’s eighth receiving touchdown. That ties Harrison with Anquan Boldin (2003) and Larry Fitzgerald (2004) for the most TD catches by a Cardinals rookie.
Score: Cardinals 40, 49ers 24 (5:47 left in the fourth quarter)
Cardinals extend their lead, 33-24
Michael Carter, getting the start in place of the injured James Conner, scored his first rushing touchdown of the season for the Cardinals.
His 4-yard scoot to the left ended with a dive into the end zone to cap a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive.
Big plays included a 20-yard completion from Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr., a 14-yarder to Trey McBride, and a 13-yard screen pass to Carter. Carter has 15 carries for 37 yards.
Score: Cardinals 33, 49ers 24 (14:16 left in the fourth quarter)
49ers pull within 2
San Francisco answered right back following the Cardinals’ last touchdown, getting a score of their own on a 36-yard pass from Josh Dobbs to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
The other key play was a 16-yard completion from Dobbs to receiver Jacob Cowing.
Dobbs is now 21 of 29 for 251 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown.
Score: Cardinals 26, 49ers 24 (4:49 left in third quarter)
Kyler Murray throws third TD pass
After both teams went three and out and were forced to punt to open the second half, the Cardinals scored again to extend their lead.
They got the ball back near midfield thanks to a nice punt return by Greg Dortch and six plays later, Dortch picked up his second touchdown on a 2-yard screen pass in which he was left wide open.
The Cardinals were aided by three penalties on the 49ers, including one on a successful point after attempt. Coach Jonathan Gannon elected to go for the two-point try with the ball spotted at the 1-yard line, but Murray’s rush attempt around left end was stopped well short.
Murray is now 18 of 26 for 173 yards and three touchdowns, two to Dortch and one to Trey McBride.
Score: Cardinals 26, 49ers 17 (8:28 left in third quarter)
Cardinals lead 20-17 at halftime
Chad Ryland kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cardinals a 3-point lead at the half.
It capped a wild finish to the second quarter that saw both teams score TDs in the final two minutes.
The Cardinals drove 70 yards on eight plays with tight end Trey McBride catching three passes for 43 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown throw by Kyler Murray for a 17-10 lead
Murray threw a fade pass to McBride in the right corner of the end zone and McBride spiked the ball with a vengeance following his second TD reception of the season. There was 1:51 remaining in the first half following the score.
McBride has six catches for 52 yards and is seven receptions away from surpassing Zach Ertz’s NFL record for most catches in a season by a tight end. Ertz had 116 with the Eagles in 2018.
The 49ers, meanwhile, matched the Cardinals’ effort by going 70 yards on 10 plays with Josh Dobbs connecting with Ricky Pearsall on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.
That was enough time, however, for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to drive to within field goal range. The big play was a 25-yard completion from Murray to Zay Jones and Ryland closed things out with his second field goal of the game
Score: Cardinals 20, 49ers 17 (halftime)
49ers tie it at 10 on Dobbs’ TD run
The 49ers drove 73 yards on eight plays, capped by a 1-yard quarterback sneak into the end zone by Josh Dobbs.
The key play was a 29-yard run by Patrick Taylor Jr.
The bigger news, however, was that each team lost a player to disqualification for personal fouls on the same play.
Before Dobbs’ TD run, 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings got into it with Cardinals’ cornerback Starling Thomas V. Both players were penalized with personal fouls, but on the very next play, Cardinals cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting lined up over Jennings and then those two went after each other.
Jennings shoved Murphy-Bunting to the ground and a flag went up. So did a second flag when Murphy-Bunting retaliated. Both players were ejected.
Score: Cardinals 10, 49ers 10 (5:43 left in second quarter).
Arizona takes 10-3 lead on Dortch TD catch
The Cardinals converted a Sean Murphy-Bunting interception of 49ers quarterback Josh Dobbs into a touchdown early in the second quarter.
After driving to the San Francisco 23, Kyler Murray threw an underneath pass to Greg Dortch on a crossing route, and the speedy Dortch made a couple of nice cuts and turned it upfield to take it into the end zone.
It was his second touchdown reception of the season and first since Oct. 21 during a 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Score: Cardinals 10, 49ers 3 (12:55 left in second quarter)
Cardinals answer with long FG
The Cardinals executed a fake punt play on fourth and 4 from their own 43-yard line and it helped put them in position to get a field goal to tie the game.
It looked as though Arizona was headed to its second straight three and out, but backup running back and kick returner DeeJay Dallas took the direct snap and ran 22 yards for a first down.
Three unsuccessful plays later, Chad Ryland came on a kicked a 51-tard field goal.
Earlier in the quarter, the Cardinals lost rookie cornerback Max Melton to a wrist injury. His return is questionable.
Ryland’s kick followed a missed 47-yard attempt by Jake Moody with 3:41 remaining in the first.
Score: Cardinals 3, 49ers 3 (end of first quarter)
49ers strike first, lead 3-0
The 49ers scored on the game’s first possession, getting a 51-yard field goal from Jake Moody to take the early lead over the Cardinals.
Josh Dobbs connected with rookie Ricky Pearsall for a 30-yard pass play to provide most of the yardage on the drive.
It was a costly one for San Francisco, however, as running back Isaac Guerendo suffered a knee and ankle injury upon being tackled by Kyzir White at the end of a short run and Guerendo had to be carted off the field. He is listed as out.
Score: 49ers 3, Cardinals 0 (12:48 left in first quarter)
49ers vs Cardinals schedule: What time is NFL Week 18 game?
The game is on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:25 p.m. MST, 4:25 p.m. ET.
NFL Week 18 schedule:TV channels, times, how to watch games this week on television
49ers vs Cardinals TV: What channel is NFL Week 18 game on?
The game can be seen on FOX.
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49ers vs Cardinals streaming: How do I watch NFL Week 18 game on livestream?
Streaming options for the Cardinals vs 49ers game include FUBO and other streaming services that carry FOX.
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49ers vs Cardinals announcers: Who is calling the NFL Week 18 game?
Chris Myers (play-by-play) and Mark Schlereth (analyst) are scheduled to be the announcers for the Cardinals-49ers Week 18 NFL game.
NFL Week 18 announcers:Television broadcasters, announcing crews for NFL Week 18 schedule
49ers vs Cardinals game odds: Who is favored in NFL Week 18?
The Cardinals are a 4-point favorite over the Cardinals in NFL Week 18 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.
Arizona is -200 on the moneyline, while San Francisco is +165.
The over/under (point total) is set at 42.5 points.
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