49ers vs. Cardinals: Twitter Reaction and Postgame Quotes

The San Francisco 49ers' 23-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 was about as ugly and disappointing as it was frustrating.

Troubling is the fact that this loss had eerie similarities to the 49ers' Sunday Night Football loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 2. In both games, San Francisco dominated the momentum early and got out to an early lead in the process.

In both games, the 49ers could not adjust to the second-half momentum surge from their opponents, which gave the Bears and Cardinals opportunities to get back in the game and, subsequently, take the lead.

In both games, costly penalties and poor decision-making killed San Francisco's chances.

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was one who felt that the penalties and officiating played a huge, and negative, role in determining the outcome.

Here is what Boldin said to reporters about the officials:

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For me, it’s been obvious the last two weeks the amount of calls that have gone against us and the amount of calls that we’ve gotten. It hasn’t been close. And every week it’s the same thing. You send the tape in, and the NFL just reports back, ‘We made a mistake.’ But at the same time, the crap is costing us games. At some point, they need to be held accountable.

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Boldin himself was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter.

“My penalty was my penalty. I shouldn’t have did it,” Boldin elaborated. “The guy’s been taking shots at me the whole game. I told the coach that. I told the ref that three times. ‘I didn’t see it...I didn’t see it...I’ll look for it.’ But as soon as we do something, wow, they see it. But when guys are doing crap to us, ‘We didn’t catch it.’”

Even linebacker Patrick Willis was penalized twice during the course of the game—the first of which was a questionable roughing-the-passer call on Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton.

Willis has reiterated that he doesn't know what he did to justify the call, per Mindi Bach of CSN Bay Area, but in typical Willis fashion, he wants to move forward.

Penalties almost always fall upon the coaching staff. Two games in a row have been riddled with costly 49ers penalties, and there is only so much that can be said about the officiating and bad calls. Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff have to bear a portion of the blame.

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Harbaugh admitted in the postgame press conference that they need to cut down on the penalties, which is to be expected, but acknowledging the issues and correcting them remain apart after these two losses.

But let's shift our focus to what the coaching staff is putting out on the field.

In two straight games, the 49ers have gotten away from their basics—running the ball with Frank Gore and using play action off the running game.

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Gore and Carlos Hyde combined for a mere 13 yards on nine carries. While Hyde was able to punch in a touchdown—the second of his young NFL career—San Francisco once again abandoned the running game like it did in the fourth quarter against Chicago a week ago.

Gore was clearly upset by something following the game. He cut off an interview and said the following, per Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com:

It is possible that Gore is upset not only about the outcome of the game, but also perhaps about being asked to carry the ball just six times.

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The 49ers also have to swallow another difficult week from their secondary. After getting burned by Brandon Marshall three times for touchdowns, rookie defensive back Jimmie Ward allowed two more touchdowns to the Cardinals. Arizona made good use of this mismatch, and it hurt San Francisco.

As Bleacher Report's Matt Miller pointed out, the 49ers need to figure out some way to adjust to this problem.

But perhaps the most embarrassing problem, and surely the most embarrassing statistic, comes from San Francisco's play in the second half.

The 49ers have yet to score a single touchdown in the second half this year and have been held to a mere three points. The lack of adjustment is killing San Francisco's early prospects for another playoff run.

It's still early in the season, but it has been an ugly start. We'll see if the 49ers can turn this thing around.

They need to, and in short order.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers' news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterMcShots on Twitter.