49ers look to pick up steam in clash vs. NFC West rival Cards

The San Francisco 49ers will try to string two wins together for the first time this season on Sunday when they host the Arizona Cardinals in Santa Clara, Calif. The 49ers (2-2) used a strong defensive performance to stop a two-game slide with a 30-13 victory over the New England Patriots last Sunday. Arizona (1-3) played its past three games at home, following up a decisive victory over the Los Angeles Rams with losses to the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. The setback to the Commanders was a 42-14 rout at the hands of former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who now is Washington's offensive coordinator. "I told (the team), ‘You have a game like that and you think you've got to blow it all up, tear it all down and we're so far away. We're really not,'" Arizona second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said earlier this week. "We're close but not there yet with how the last game went." Gannon mentioned two areas the Cardinals must correct: their third-down conversion attempts and stopping opponents on their third-down tries. The Lions converted 50 percent of their third-down situations (6 for 12) in a 20-13 win over Arizona. The Cardinals then allowed the Commanders a 75 percent success rate (9 for 12) on third down. Arizona's offense, conversely, went 1 for 9 (11.1 percent) on third-down attempts against the Lions and 4 for 11 (36.4 percent) versus the Commanders. "I know that any offense -- in Pop Warner to the NFL -- has a better chance converting when it's third-and-manageable, so we have to do a better job there," Gannon said. The promising news for the Cardinals is the 49ers' defense is allowing the seventh-highest third-down conversion rate in the league at 46.0 percent. Another encouraging development is rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. reeling in 14 receptions for 239 yards and four touchdowns over the past three weeks. The 49ers got good news on the injury front when tight end George Kittle (ribs) and linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) returned for limited practice participation on Friday after sitting out the previous two days. Both were listed as questionable for Sunday, alongside wide receiver Jacob Cowing (shoulder), cornerback Isaac Yiadom (thigh) and defensive lineman Kalia Davis (knee). Davis finally might play for the 49ers this week after the team opened the practice window Wednesday for the 2022 sixth-round draft pick. Davis sustained a knee injury that required surgery in the preseason opener at the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 10. Defensive lineman Nick Bosa said the possibility of Davis playing against the Cardinals is "huge," especially after the news of the 49ers likely not having defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (partially torn triceps) the rest of the season. "We needed a little help with depth," Bosa said of the defensive line. "Hopefully, (Davis) works in slow, but I think if his body is in good shape, then we already know what he can do as a player." San Francisco ruled out two players for the game: defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf). The 49ers' defensive line was a significant factor in the win over New England. Givens recorded 2.5 sacks, Maliek Collins added 1.5, and Evan Anderson and Bosa each had one. "I thought the defense as a whole, and especially the D-line, really rose to the occasion for that game," San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said. The Cardinals will be without guard Isaiah Adams (thumb) and cornerback Garrett Williams (groin). Veteran kicker Matt Prater, who missed two days of practice this week due to a knee injury, was listed as questionable, as were tackles Christian Jones (ankle) and Kelvin Beachum (hamstring) and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (knee). --Field Level Media