Although they hadn't yet shown they could finish the job, the 49ers had one last chance on Sunday.

But the Arizona Cardinals thwarted that chance as the 49ers' final mistake of the game sealed their fate.

The 49ers' final error of the game was not due to a mistake in pass protection. The Cardinals beat the 49ers with a tactical move and quarterback Brock Purdy didn't make a quick enough decision.

“They just did more than we had to block,” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers' 24-23 loss to the Cardinals at Levi's Stadium.

CARDINAL!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/d7nfKh9Gpn

– NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

Seven-time Super Bowl winner and quarterback Tom Brady summed it up in his new role as an analyst on Fox.

“Sometimes the players make the play,” Brady said. “Sometimes the scheme decides. And in this case it’s a little bit of both.”

The Cardinals made the defensive call that secured the win with 70 seconds left in the game.

Purdy was a split second slower when he recognized the pressure and rolled it over the middle to tight end George Kittle.

“They had a blitz,” Shanahan said in a conference call with Bay Area reporters Monday morning. “If two guys attack from behind, that means you’re hot. And we just have to get rid of the ball quicker.”

The Cardinals chose an opportune time to call an overload blitz, moving four pass rushers across the right side of the 49ers' offensive line.

Right guard Dominick Puni blocked defensive tackle LJ Collier, who lined up above him. Right tackle Colton McKitvitz was responsible for edge rusher Julian Okwara.

That left 49ers running back Jordan Mason and linebacker Krys Barnes And Safety Jalen Thompson.

Mason grabbed inside rusher Barnes while Thompson shot the ball down the line and hit Purdy as he threw.

The pass flapped in the air, allowing Arizona linebacker Kyzir White to make the long-range interception to end the game.

At halftime, the 49ers had a 23-10 lead. But on four possessions in the second half, Purdy threw two interceptions, Mason lost a fumble and the 49ers turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-23 from the Cardinals' 27-yard line.

The potential field goal was about 10 yards out of reach of punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who was forced to kick after Jake Moody left the game with a high ankle sprain.

The 49ers blew double-digit leads in the second half of their losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona.

“I thought that game was worse than the Rams game because we got more sloppy in terms of our turnovers and things like that and we didn't score in the second half,” Shanahan said.

“If you have a lead on people, you have to take them down. The way to finish people is to keep scoring. And if you don’t do that, you can’t give it up and you end up having to stop people.”

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