Pineiro saves the day for the 49ers in 16-15 win over Cardinals

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers third consecutive win was bittersweet as it came at a pricey cost.

Kicker Eddy Pineiro kicked a game winning 35-yard field goal as time expired to propel the Red and Gold to a 16-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Afternoon at Levi's Stadium.

San Francisco takes control of the NFC West with the rest of the division at 2-1. The locker room had a somber vibe to it after the game as All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa left the first half with a knee injury when he awkwardly planted his knee almost doing a split while rushing at Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. On Monday, an MRI revealed Bosa torn the ACL in that left knee ending his 2025 season after just three games.

It was also the second consecutive start for backup 49er quarterback Mac Jones as starter Brock Purdy's toe and shoulder weren't 100 percent to go after the walk through on Saturday despite taking part in two limited practices. The fifth-year veteran had an average game going 27 of 41 for 284 with one touchdown and one interception.

Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall had a breakout game as he led all receivers in yardage with 118 on eight catches. That was one of the bright spots for the 49er's offense during the game. Head coach Kyle Shanahan definitely tried to get star running back Christian McCaffery more touches in this game. McCaffery was targeted 15 times, the most by any player, and caught 10 for receptions for 88 yards. Run CMC also led all rushers with 52 yards on 17 carries including one for 15 yards.

“Oh my goodness. He is impressive," said 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne regarding Pearsall's performance. "Just even coming in with his energy. We connected. We were dancing and enjoying each other. We came up with a handshake so fast. I’m proud of him and I told him how impressive it is that he is doing what he is doing at his age. I told him his conditioning, his stamina are top tier and if he can play like that, he's going to have a great career, get paid and make a lot of money.”

To be honest this game wasn't nothing to write home to the grandkids about. Both defenses dominated play as both offenses struggled to find any consistent rhythm. Nine total points with four punts and three 3-and-outs made for a snoozer of a first half. The second half wasn't that great either both teams didn't score their respective touchdowns until the fourth quarter.

One of the biggest blunders that almost came back to bite San Francisco in the butt was their drive at the end of the third quarter. They had first and goal at the three-yard line and came away with ZERO points. Three straight runs to McCaffery and then a pass out to him on that Jones threw behind him when McCaffery wasn't even looking at the ball on fourth down. It was not the greatest set of play calling down at the goal line by Shanahan.

San Francisco wasn't the only team that had a catastrophic injury to one of their star players. Arizona running back James Connor suffered a season ending ankle injury when he was combo tackled by Jordan Elliot. Connor laid on the field for an extended period of time before being carted off the field. The entire gasped when the stadium showed the replay on the new gigantic jumbotrons.

Despite Bosa out for the majority of the game, the 49ers fixated on Murry and had him running for his life in the second half. Murray was able to escape most of the time when he was pressured, but San Francisco put the clamps on the Cardinals offense when it mattered the most. After giving up safety with a holding call in the endzone that gave Arizona a 15-13 lead with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter, the 49ers forced an incompletion on a 3rd and 9 just after the two-minute warning as Arizona had to punt and give back the ball to the home team with 1:46 left on the game clock.

“I think it speaks to the work that they've all put in and their maturity," linebacker Fred Warner said. "I have to give it to them and the way that they've prepared which has allowed them to come in and be ready for their moments, they don't play like rookies. They are coming in week in and week out making these big time plays and we're going to need them to continue to do so.”

Jones guided the offense 63 yards down the field in 10 plays to set up Pineiro's heroics.

“I was confident. You know, we don't have a lot of life experiences together, but yeah, I was feeling good with it and he definitely kept that going. We were gonna kick a long, we were in field goal range earlier before that. Loved the screen that Christian (McCaffery) did, the guys blocked great for him, got it in there, made it easier, and then we centered it, and he hit the game winner.”

San Francisco hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday September 28 at 1:05pm at Levi's Stadium.