10Nov/0811:00 PM

Cardinals finally end Monday Night hex, beat 49ers, 29-24

By Vince Marotta

Photo: Paul Connors/AP

The Monday Night Football jinx is over for the Arizona Cardinals.

In a game that featured more flags than the United Nations, the Cardinals slogged their way to a 29-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

The Cardinals’ defense, which struggled for most of the night to stop a San Francisco offense that has struggled for much of the season, came up huge when it counted most. With :04 left, and the 49ers with the ball at the Cardinals’ 2 yard line, San Francisco quarterback Shaun Hill handed the ball off to backup running back Michael Robinson, a former college quarterback, who was stuffed at the one-yard line by linebacker Clark Haggans to end the football game.

On the second to last play, San Francisco runner Frank Gore was ruled down by contact at the two, despite his desperate attempt to crawl into the end zone. The play went to an official’s review, after which the Niners had one play left with :04 remaining. With the Niners possessing no timeouts, they had the option to run a final play, or spike the ball to allow them to huddle and better set up a final play. It didn’t work.

The game was sloppy, and started out on the wrong foot for the Cardinals, when San Francisco kick returner Allen Rossum returned the opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals didn’t grab their first lead until the 4th quarter, when Kurt Warner hooked up with Anquan Boldin on their second touchdown pass of the night with just 4:16 left. On the ensuing drive, the 49ers drove deep into Cardinal territory, but on a 3rd and 3, Hill threw an ill-advised shovel pass which was intercepted by Adrian Wilson, who made a spectacular diving catch. Many in the stadium thought that was the ball game. But it wasn’t, as the Cardinals went three and out and only took 1:10 off the clock, setting the stage for San Francisco’s final drive which came up 3 feet short.

Pluses

Kurt Warner and the passing game were outstanding again. Warner finished 32 of 42 for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Cardinals receiving trio of Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston combined for 22 catches, 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. Warner certainly did nothing to take himself out of the running for his third league MVP award.

Minuses

Penalties. The teams combined for 20 penalties on the night. The Cardinals continually shot themselves in the foot with ill-timed penalties.
The defense did not play a good game. They did not sack Hill all night, and allowed the 49ers to convert on 9 of 18 third-down conversions.
Special Teams struggled, not only on kick coverage, but punter Dirk Johnson also struggled, averaging only 35 yards on 5 kicks. In a crucial late game situation, Johnson line-drived a short 40-yard punt that Rossum returned 13 yards.

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Here’s what others are saying about the Cardinals’ nail-biter over the 49ers…