Fascinating Cardinals' Game Grades and Stats on Offense vs 49ers

By Walter Mitchell

Player Grades on Offense:

* QB Jacoby Brissett --- 78.7 --- (Brock Purdy --- 61.9) 

* RB Bam Knight --- 81.0 --- (Christian McCaffrey --- 86.8)

* WR Michael Wilson --- 83.5 --- (Jauan Jennings --- 68.8)

* WR Greg Dortch --- 77.0 --- (Ricky Pearsall --- 51.1)

* TE Trey McBride --- 78.1 --- (George Kittle --- 87.6)

* LT Paris Johnson Jr. --- 68.3 --- (Trent Williams --- 81.8)

* LG Evan Brown --- 61.4 --- (Ben Bartch --- 61.8)

* C Hjalte Froholdt --- 69.9 --- (Jake Brendal --- 60.9)

* RG Will Hernandez --- 67.8; Isaiah Adams --- 77.1 --- (Dominic Puni --- 70.0)

* RT Kelvin Beachum --- 65.5; Josh Fryar --- 65.8 --- (Colton McKivitz --- 79.3)

Where the 49ers' Offense Eclipsed the Cardinals' Offense:

* Points: 41 (ARI 22)

* Rushing: 95 (ARI 36)

* Red Zone TD Percentage: 4/5 (ARI 3/5)

* Turnovers: 0 (ARI 3)

Tied:

* First Downs: ARI 24; SF 24

Where the Cardinals' Offense Eclipsed the 49er's Offense:

* Total Plays: 71 (SF 52)

* Total Yards: 488 (SF 281)

* Passing: 452 (SF 186)

* Yards Per Play: 6.9 (SF 5.4)

* 3rd Down Conversion Percentage: 6/14 (SF 3/9)

* Sacks: 0 (SF 1)

* Time of Possession: 34:15 (SF 24:45)

Commentary:

I hugely appreciate and respect that Jacoby Brissett and the offense play hard for all 60 minutes. It irks me to see so many Cardinals' fans on social media scoffed at this historic offensive performance because it came in a lopsided loss. In my opinion, that's when it tests the true character of the players. One of my all-time favorite players on the Cardinals was Larry Centers. That dude played his tail off no matter what the score.

What so many Cardinals fans underappreciate is that the Cardinals' 488 total yards came against a Robert Saleh swarm the ball style of defense. None of what the Cardinals' offense earned in this game came easily. 

This was Jacoby Brissett's finest performance throughout his 10 years in the NFL. Setting an NFL record of 47 completions is a stunning milestone. This accomplishment, imo, should not be mitigated or dismissed in any shape or fashion. The performance was a study in resiliency and perseverance. Think of all the adversity the offense had to overcome --- from having to use a silent snap count in their own stadium because of the crowd being 2:1 49ers fans --- from having to try to climb out of one hole after the next thanks to the 49ers quick ability to score TDs --- from having to fight back from penalties and turnovers. 

This was the Cardinals' best pass blocking performance of the season --- and it was very encouraging to see all of the Cardinals' offensive linemen grade above 65.0, save for Evan Brown, who wasn't too far away at 61.4. Great to see Will Hernandez have his best pass blocking game and to see youngsters Isaiah Adams and Josh Fryar grade so well when it was their turn at RG and RT respectively. 

Look at the offensive improvement that Jacoby Brissett is providing:

QBs with the lowest Three-and-out % in 2025:

1. Patrick Mahomes - 20.00% 2. Jacoby Brissett - 23.53% 3. Josh Allen - 24.72% 4. Marcus Mariota - 25.00% 5. Dak Prescott - 25.53%

QBs with the highest Three-and-out % in 2025:

1. Dillon Gabriel - 43.64% 2. Jalen Hurts - 40.43% 3. Justin Fields - 40.28% 4. Kyler Murray - 39.13%

* 3rd Down Conversion %: Jacoby: 49%, Kyler 37%

Unforgettable Performance:

What I will always remember about this game is not only Jacoby's all-time completion record but how brilliant he was at feeding the top three receivers. It's a rare day as a fan when you get to see numbers like these:

Phenomenal numbers from Jacoby and 3 top rec's that Cards have not seen since the days of Kurt Warner: * Michael Wilson --- 15/18, 185 yards, 12.3 * Trey McBride --- 10/11, 115 yards, 11.5, 1 TD * Greg Dortch --- 6/6, 66 yards, 11.0, 1 TD Totals: 31/35, 89%, 366 yards, 11.8, 2

Jacoby has brought back the joy and confidence in the Cardinals' passing game. His offensive linemen love blocking for him and his receivers feel like they have been reborn as NFL playmakers.

Yes, the positives here are plentiful. That is apparently in 2025 when one Cardinals' fan's junk is another Cardinals' fan's treasure.