Week 16 Game Recap: Arizona Cardinals 26, San Francisco 49ers 20

What you need to know

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals got off to a hot start behind QB Matt Leinart, who threw for 162 yards and a score to stud WR Larry Fitzgerald in the first half, before leaving with a season ending shoulder injury before the half. Leinart was relieved by backup Kurt Warner, who played efficiently while using the run to shorten the game for most of the second half. Warner finished with 105 yards in relief and will start the club’s final game.

RB Edgerrin James got over the century mark with 105 yards on 29 carries as he continued to struggle finding room in the running game. While James had a long run of just 11 yards, he played a big part in Arizona winning the time of possession battle and keeping the San Francisco offense off the field. Touchdown vulture Marcel Shipp scored on a five yard run in the first quarter.

WR Larry Fitzgerald led the way in receiving with four catches for 93 yards and scored on a six yard touchdown reception from Leinart in the second quarter. Johnson’s sidekick Anquan Boldin helped out with four catches for 64 yards.

Arizona’s defense was aided tremendously by their offense controlling the clock, and came up big in the fourth quarter when they needed to, forcing two turnovers that helped seal the deal.

San Francisco 49ers

Alex Smith had 190 yards passing and failed to get his offense going when they needed it most – in the fourth quarter. Smith was able to muster up a scoring drive late in the fourth to cut the lead to 26-20, but the offense could not get the ball back as Arizona ran out the remaining 5:00 to win the game.

Frank Gore scored on touchdown runs of one and two yards, but ran for only 51 yards on 11 carries. He was used in the passing game, catching six passes for 35 yards.

WR Arnaz Battle was thrust into the lead receiver role with the suspension of WR Antonio Bryant and responded with seven catches for 55 yards. While he led the team in receptions, Battle also had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter that gave Arizona great field position, and ultimately, a successful field goal. The kick extended the lead to 26-13 with eight minutes left and put the 49ers in a big hole late in the game.

San Francisco’s defense was stingy against the run, but their inability to keep the Cardinals out of long down and distance’s allowed Arizona to control the clock for most of the game. As a result, San Francisco held the ball for 15 less minutes than Arizona, and their offense was given little chance to make things happen while on the sidelines.

What you ought to know

QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 9 - 13 - 105 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - -2 - 0

Warner entered in relief of the injured Leinart and, while not spectacular, played well enough to help lead the team to the victory. He completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 105 yards, and helped set up two Rackers field goal attempts in the fourth quarter to help Arizona increase their lead. Warner will finish out the season for the Cardinals, who lost Leinart for the rest of the season.

QB Matt Leinart, Pass: 9 - 13 - 162 - 1 TD / 0 INT

Leinart was on his way to a solid outing against the 49ers, throwing for 162 yards and a six yard touchdown strike to WR Larry Fitzgerald before spraining his left shoulder before halftime and being forced to leave the game. The injury came when Leinart was sacked by San Francisco’s Roderick Green right before the half, ending the youngster’s season.

RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 29 - 105 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets)

James carried the load for the Cardinals rushing attack, carrying the ball 29 times for 105 yards. He averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and had a long run of just 11 yards. James owners also were hurt by Marcel Shipp stealing another potential James score. In the passing game, James was targeted three times, catching one pass for a three yard gain.

RB Marcel Shipp, Rush: 5 - 13 - 1, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Shipp spelled James occasionally to rush for 13 yards on five carries, including a five yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He was targeted just once out of the backfield, coming down with the reception for a five yard gain.

RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets)

Arrington had just one rush for three yards and caught a pass for a 19 yard gain on his only target of the game.

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 4 - 93 - 1 (7 targets)

Fitzgerald caught four balls for a team high 93 yards, including a six yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. He tied fellow WR Anquan Boldin with seven targets to lead the team. Along with his touchdown reception, Fitzgerald’s other three catches netted Cardinals’ first downs.

WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 4 - 53 - 0 (4 targets)

Johnson caught all four balls thrown his way for 53 yards.

WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 4 - 64 - 0 (7 targets)

Boldin was targeted seven times in the game, catching four passes for 64 yards. All four of his receptions resulted in Arizona first downs.

TE Leonard Pope, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Pope had just one reception for four yards on the only ball thrown his way.

PK Neil Rackers 4 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 14 points

Rackers connected on field goal attempts from 25 and 39 yards out in the first half and added two successful field goals from 37 and 32 yards out in the fourth that helped Arizona extend their lead.

ARI Rush Defense

Arizona did not have to play much defense against the 49ers rushing attack, who ran the ball just 12 times for the game. The 49ers were playing catch up in the second half and did not get many running opportunities with the Cardinals efficient ball control offense. For the game, they gave up just 49 yards rushing and five rushing first downs, but did give up two rushing touchdowns.

LB Monty Beisel led the way defensively for Arizona with eight tackles and DB Antrel Rolle forced a San Francisco fumble.

ARI Pass Defense

The Cardinals gave up just 190 yards passing and zero passing scores against the 49ers, who played without a major weapon in suspended WR Antonio Bryant. The unit forced two turnovers, recorded four sacks and came up big in the fourth quarter to help preserve the win.

LB Karlos Dansby had four assisted tackles and three assists, as well as a sack for the Cardinals, who also got sacks from DE Chike Okeafor, DB Adrian Wilson and LB Calvin Pace. DB Antrel Rolle recorded the only interception of the game.

QB Alex Smith, Pass: 18 - 29 - 190 - 0 TD / 1 INT

Smith had a game that mirrored the majority of his performances this season, 18 of 29 passing for 190 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. The young signal caller wasn’t helped by the suspension of starting wideout Antonio Bryant, or the four sacks Arizona was able to tally up. Smith’s interception came early in the fourth quarter, and while the Cardinals failed to capitalize on that turnover, San Francisco gave the ball right back on their next possession on a Smith to Battle completion that ended in a Battle lost fumble.

RB Frank Gore, Rush: 11 - 51 - 2, Rec: 6 - 35 - 0 (7 targets)

Gore was unable to get much going on the ground, getting just 11 carries for 51 yards, however, he was able to get in the end zone twice in the second half to help out his fantasy stats. His scores came from two yards and one yard out, and Gore also caught six passes for 35 yards in the passing game.

RB Maurice Hicks, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0

Hicks had just one rush for a loss of two yards in the game.

WR Arnaz Battle, Rec: 7 - 55 - 0 (9 targets)

Battle got a lot of attention without Bryant in the lineup, getting nine targets and coming down with seven catches for 55 yards. He did have a costly fourth quarter fumble that led to an Arizona field goal that increased their lead to 26-13.

WR Taylor Jacobs, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

Jacobs got just three targets, catching one pass for a nine yard gain.

WR Antonio Bryant

Bryant did not play in the game, starting the first of his four game suspension for violating the substance abuse policy, and his absence definitely hurt the 49er offensive production.

TE Vernon Davis, Rec: 4 - 91 - 0 (9 targets)

Davis tied Battle for the team lead in targets with nine, catching four balls for a team high 91 yards. He did most of his damage downfield, averaging over 20 yards per reception. Davis did have a few balls hit him in the hands that could have been catches.

PK Joe Nedney 2 - 2 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Nedney connected on field goals from 49 and 32 yards out, both in the first half, and made good on two extra point attempts to finish with eight points.

SF Rush Defense

The 49ers played well against the run, limiting the Cardinals to a 3.0 ypc average and giving up just seven rushing first downs. While they did give up over 100 yards to Arizona RB Edgerrin James and a rushing score to Marcel Shipp, it took Arizona 41 rush attempts to accomplish those two positive plays, and their running game was slow to develop for the majority of the game.

LB Brandon Moore led the defense with nine solo and two assisted tackles.

SF Pass Defense

San Francisco was off to a rough start, giving up 162 yards passing and a score through the air in the first half, before sending Matt Leinart to the locker room with an injury. In the second half, backup Kurt Warner did not do much but manage the clock on his way to 105 yards while Arizona played ball control offense. For the game, the 49ers gave up 13 passing first downs and eight of 16 third down conversions.

DE Roderick Green had two sacks for San Francisco, including the sack that put Matt Leinart out for the remainder of the season.