After winning their first matchup 16-15 in Week 4 on a game-winning field goal as time expired at Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals met again on Sunday, this time at State Farm Stadium, where Kyle Shanahan’s team earned a dominant 41-22 win.

Quarterback Brock Purdy returned to the starting lineup for this game, and while he still looked a bit off while using his legs, he had a strong day, completing 73.1% of his passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Christian McCaffrey also had a three-touchdown day, rushing for two on 81 yards and catching one on five receptions for 40 yards.

However, after the win, we still need to acknowledge some players or areas of the game that the 49ers need to clean up. Let’s get into it.

Renardo Green

While Green didn’t have the best day on the field, he lands on this list strictly because of the team’s dumbest penalty of the day. After Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed a seven-yard pass to wide receiver Greg Dortch, Green got up in tight end Trey McBride’s face and ripped at his facemask after the play. The penalty gave the Cardinals a fresh set of downs and led them to a field goal. Green was benched after that play and eventually had to return when another cornerback got injured.

Brian Robinson Jr.

Robinson has had a few good weeks, but this one was far from his best. He finished the day with eight carries for 24 yards (3.0 per attempt) and didn’t catch his lone target of the day.

Ricky Pearsall

Pearsall finally made his return to the offense on Sunday after missing the last six games with a knee injury, and he was quiet. The second-year wideout was targeted three times, catching one pass for no gain. He’ll be better in the coming weeks, but it was nice to see him get back on the field.

Late-game defense

San Francisco built 25-point leads twice in this game, so it’s not surprising that they took their foot off the gas a little bit late, allowing the Cardinals to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. In fact, in garbage time, the 49ers allowed Brissett to set an NFL record with 47 completions while playing soft zones. It makes sense that they wanted to escape this game easily and without more injuries on defense, but with all of the youth and inexperience, it would be nice to see them get more competitive reps against the NFL players.

Kicking unit

San Francisco’s special teams has been one of the bright spots this year, especially their kicking with Eddy Pineiro. However, it was an issue on Sunday, as Pineiro had an extra point blocked, had another go wide right and had a field goal blocked that was luckily nullified by a penalty. The 49ers ended the day without their kicker, as Pineiro suffered a hamstring injury that led to Thomas Morstead handling kickoffs and Purdy attempting two-point conversions at a meaningless point in the game.

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