Cardinals vs. 49ers: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

Week 5 is early for must-win games in the NFL, but that's what Thursday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers was for the Arizona Cardinals.

The reigning NFC West champions were in dire need of a win following a 1-3 start, and they pulled through with a 33-21 victory at Levi's Stadium.

Meanwhile, the 1-4 49ers have dropped four straight since blanking the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1.  

David Johnson was the focal point of the Cardinals offense with Carson Palmer (concussion) sidelined, and the running back finished with 27 rushes for 157 yards and two touchdowns to go with three catches for 28 yards.

Johnson has now topped 100 yards from scrimmage in all five games this season, making him the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info). 

The outing also represented the second 100-yard rushing effort of Johnson's career. Incidentally, both have come with Chip Kelly coaching the opposing team, according to the Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows: 

Drew Stanton, who started in place of Palmer, completed 11 of 28 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns—both of which were to Larry Fitzgerald.

While some of those numbers were encouraging, Arizona's start was anything but. 

Each of the game's first nine possessions ended with a punt, and CSN Bay Area's Matt Maiocco provided a humorous snapshot of the listless proceedings to sum up both sides' struggles: 

Of course, early-game woes were nothing new for Arizona, which has now started the season with five straight scoreless first quarters. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Arizona is the only team in the league that has failed to score in the opening frame this season.

The 49ers weren't much better during that span, but they found rhythm on their second drive of the second quarter that Blaine Gabbert (18-of-31, 162 yards, two total touchdowns, two interceptions) capped off with a nine-yard touchdown pass to wideout Jeremy Kerley, who accounted for 75 of the 49ers' 96 first-half receiving yards.

The Cardinals offense still couldn't find a groove, but an interception by Calais Campbell—who became the second player since 1982 to notch two sacks, a pick and a safety in a game, per Elias (via Cardinals PR's Mark Dalton)—allowed Stanton and Co. to strike back. 

Stanton proceeded to find Fitzgerald for a 21-yard score on the first play of the ensuing drive to knot things at seven, as the NFL documented on Twitter:

Dalton relayed an illuminating stat regarding Fitzgerald's consistent stylings:

Arizona continued to surge at the start of the second half, when it recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the third quarter, which set up a Johnson four-yard touchdown scamper. 

Up 14-7 after the extra point, the Cardinals began to find some confidence. 

Not only was the defense providing steady waves of pressure, but Johnson also started to carry the offense and move the chains to set up deep shots on early downs.

One of those attempts came on a first down midway through the third quarter, when Stanton looped a ball down the right sideline to Fitzgerald for a gorgeous 29-yard score, as the NFL displayed: 

The 33-year-old's second score of the day moved him into 19th place on the league's all-time list with 103 in his career, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Pro Football Focus pointed out that the ageless wonder still ranks among the league's premier receivers:

While it appeared the Cardinals were ready to pull away, the 49ers responded with an impressive 82-yard drive that was punctuated by a one-yard touchdown plunge from Carlos Hyde (22 carries, 78 yards), who jumped into a tie for the league lead with six rushing touchdowns on the season.

The 49ers got the ball back with a chance to tie the game at 21-21, but an interception by Marcus Cooper allowed the Cardinals to tack on a field goal and create some breathing room. 

From that moment on, it was all Cardinals.

Johnson shredded the Niners between the tackles and killed loads of clock in the fourth quarter, and the Cardinals had no problem waltzing to their second win of the season after their star running back punched in his second score of the evening. 

Now 2-3, the Cardinals will have a long week to prepare before they host the New York Jets on Monday Night Football on Oct. 17. 

If they can capitalize on the momentum they built Thursday night, the Cardinals will have a shot to wedge their way back into the postseason conversation following an uncharacteristically sloppy start to the season.

The 49ers, on the other hand, will need to regroup and find some solutions on both sides of the ball. 

Kelly's club, which entered the night ranked 30th in total offense, managed just 286 yards, while the Niners' 32nd-ranked run defense was gashed repeatedly.

A meeting with an improving Buffalo Bills team that features one of the league's premier rushers, LeSean McCoy, awaits on Oct. 16, and the 49ers could drop to 1-5 if they don't make some adjustments over the next 10 days. 

Postgame Reaction

Once the result was final, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson expressed his pleasure with the team's win on the NFL's official Twitter account: 

Like Peterson, head coach Bruce Arians was thankful to be back on the right track. 

According to Kyle Odegard of the team's official website, Arians told reporters, "That was obviously what we needed."

Fitzgerald concurred and noted that while a 2-3 record isn't ideal, "it it gives us a fighting chance," per Odegard. 

As for the flow of the offense, Arians said the team didn't intend to force feed Johnson the rock, but noted "he was hot," according to ArizonaSports.com's Adam Green. 

The 49ers, though, were left with far more questions than answers following a fourth straight loss. 

According to KNBR's Kevin Jones, Kelly acknowledged Gabbert may no longer have a tight grip on the starting job: 

"We're going to look at everything," he added, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch.  

To his credit, Gabbert said he has "got to play better," following another lackluster display, per Branch.

"We have a bunch of guys that want to be a part of the solution, not blame anyone else," Kelly later said, according to the team's official Twitter account.