The Arizona Cardinals had players who stood out and some who had performances to forget in their 36-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Who were the studs and duds in the loss?
Stud: LB Jordan Hicks
Hicks certainly did his part in the game. He had one of his best games with the Cardinals. With his first tackle of the game, he reached 100 for the season, the first time he has done that in his career. He filled the stat sheet. He finished with 13 tackles, two for loss. He had a sack. He picked off a pass and was credited with a pass breakup. He also had two other hits on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Dud: WR KeeSean Johnson
Johnson had two catches for 14 yards but he also gave the ball up at the worst time. After the 49ers scored the game-winning touchdown, the Cardinals had 31 seconds to try and make some magic. Johnson caught a pass and fumbled it back to the 49ers on the very first play, killing any hope at all of a win.
Stud: QB Kyler Murray
This is becoming a regular thing. On Sunday, he didn’t have many passing yards, finishing with only 150 yards on 24-of-33 passing. It is important to note the 49ers have the league’s best pass defense. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. His passer rating was a stellar 101.8. The 49ers have only allowed an opposing player to have a passer rating of at least 100 only twice this season. Murray did it both times.
He rushed for 67 yards, which tied Kenyan Drake for the team lead.
Dud: RB David Johnson
It wasn’t that Johnson played poorly. He just barely played. He played nine first-half snaps and none in the second half. He was given zero opportunities to do anything with the ball. He was not given any rushing attempts and he was not targeted in the passing game.
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