GLENDALE, Ariz. _ As ugly as it started, it ended even uglier for the 49ers, who lost their sixth straight game Sunday and had a win slip from their grasp in the final minute.
The 49ers blew a 15-3, fourth-quarter lead against the league's worst offense as the Arizona Cardinals rallied for an 18-15 victory.
"It's tough. Guys are really hurting in there and they should be. If they weren't, something's wrong with them," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "This is their job. It's what we do, our livelihood."
Next up for the 49ers (1-7) is a Thursday night visit by the Raiders (1-7) at Levi's Stadium. Sunday, the 49ers and Cardinals both entered 1-6 and both looked like lousy, one-win teams most of the game.
"We're not happy at all with where this season's gone and there's still a half a season to play," Shanahan added. "We need to step it up. The season's not ending. We're not going to sit here and run away. I want guys who are going to come out fight. And I thought we did fight today. We just didn't do it well enough."
"They made more plays than us down the stretch," cornerback Richard Sherman said.
Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes in the Cardinals' comeback, capped by a 13-yard pass with 34 seconds remaining to Christian Kirk, who slipped past Tyvis Powell and took a hard shot from Jimmie Ward under the goal posts.
Of course, a 15-3 lead wasn't exactly safe with Larry Fitzgerald on the field. He made a 13-yard touchdown catch against Powell with 11:06 remaining, after earlier hauling in a 37-yard catch against Sherman on that drive.
It was Fitzgerald's 18th touchdown against the 49ers, more than any opponent in history against them. He had eight catches for 102 yards.
If Shanahan's game plan was conservative to limit turnovers, that would be understandable, seeing how the 49ers committed 12 turnovers in their past three defeats and five in their 28-18 loss to the Cardinals three weeks ago. But the 49ers offense converted only 5 of 14 third-down plays and totaled only 267 yards, their second straight game below 300 yards.
"Nothing really conservative about it. It's just what we were doing wasn't quite working," said Beathard, who fell to 0-5 as the starter in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo.
It took nearly 40 minutes for the game's first touchdown, but when it came, it was a beauty by the 49ers Marquise Goodwin, who caught a slant pass against All-Pro Patrick Peterson and raced 55 yards to the end zone for a 12-3 lead.
It marked the fifth straight season the 49ers have been swept in the home-and-away series by the Cardinals.
Said Fitzgerald: "Anytime you can beat the 49ers, for me, that's the biggest win in our division. They're the most storied franchise in our division. They've won multiple Super Bowls. ... To be able to put together a little streak that we have against them (10 straight wins), it means a lot."
