Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers Top Kyler Murray's Cardinals 28-25 to Remain Undefeated

The San Francisco 49ers are halfway to an undefeated regular season.

San Francisco improved to 8-0 on the campaign with a 28-25 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Thursday's NFC West showdown at State Farm Stadium. The 49ers are still multiple games ahead of the 6-2 Seattle Seahawks and 5-3 Los Angeles Rams in the division thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo spearheading the latest effort with a career-high four touchdown passes in his best game of the season.

As for Arizona, it has now lost two in a row following a three-game winning streak and is just 3-5-1 on the season.

Notable Fantasy Stats

• SF QB Jimmy Garoppolo: 28-of-37 passing for 317 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions
• SF TE George Kittle: six catches for 79 yards and one touchdown
• SF WR Emmanuel Sanders: seven catches for 112 yards and one touchdown
• AZ QB Kyler Murray: 17-of-24 passing for 241 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions; 34 rushing yards
• AZ RB Kenyan Drake: 15 carries for 110 yards and one touchdown; four catches for 52 yards

Jimmy Garoppolo Shows 49ers More Than Just Defense and Running Backs

San Francisco's defense has been the primary storyline all season, and the three-headed rushing attack of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert has done much of the heavy lifting on the offensive end.

In fact, Coleman had four touchdowns in the last game against the Carolina Panthers, while Garoppolo has been a member of the supporting cast who entered this contest with four games of fewer than 200 passing yards and zero with more than 300.

He played the lead role Thursday, though, and surgically spread the ball to nine different pass-catchers. Arizona's overmatched secondary had no chance against George Kittle, who broke multiple tackles and powered his way to the end zone for the visitors' first score, or Emmanuel Sanders, who hauled in a touchdown on a fourth-down conversion to end the first half and consistently beat Patrick Peterson.

It was clear in Sanders' second game with the 49ers that his presence opens up the entire field for the aerial attack.

Kendrick Bourne benefited from the additional attention No. 17 draws with a touchdown, and Deebo Samuel would have joined if he didn't drop a wide-open throw in the end zone. Fortunately for the South Carolina product, Garoppolo bailed him out with a touchdown throw to Sanders only after Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury nullified a fourth-down stop with an ill-timed timeout.

Just for good measure, Garoppolo responded to pressure after Arizona trimmed the deficit to 21-14 in the second half by dropping a dime to Sanders for a third-down conversion and finding Dante Pettis for his fourth touchdown pass of the game. He did the same with multiple third-down conversions on the final drive while nursing a three-point advantage.

San Francisco's defense is a given, and its backfield is talented enough to win games. However, its ceiling is the Lombardi Trophy if Garoppolo plays well, and he was the driving force in Thursday's win. 

Kenyan Drake Provides Cardinals Silver Lining Against Daunting Defense

The biggest storyline entering this contest was the matchup between the top two picks of the 2019 NFL draft in Kyler Murray and Nick Bosa.

After all, Murray has flashed his immense potential with the athleticism to escape pressure and arm strength to find receivers downfield, while Bosa has been the catalyst for arguably the league's best defense with constant pressure and seven sacks. That defense entered play first in the league in yards allowed per game and second in points allowed per game as one of the NFL's biggest revelations.

With workhorse David Johnson ruled out, the game plan for the Cardinals against that group was clear: Get the ball to their new running back.

Kenyan Drake finished with 162 total yards as Arizona's best player. He wasted no time making an impact in his first game with his new team with a touchdown run on the opening drive and helped negate the pressure by allowing Murray to quickly get the ball out of his hand on screens and making defenders miss in the open field.

He also set up a touchdown on Arizona's first drive of the second half with multiple receptions before KeeSean Johnson found the end zone.

Drake was stuck on the hopeless Miami Dolphins early in the year but appears to be a different player as a focal point in Kingsbury's offense. The coach can scheme him into space, and the fact that opposing defenses always have to worry about Murray's ability to keep the ball and take off should give Drake plenty of chances to break long runs.

Arizona didn't have enough against one of the league's two remaining undefeated teams, but Drake gives it another playmaker to work with down the stretch as Murray continues his development.

What's Next?

Both teams play NFC foes in Week 10. The 49ers host the Seahawks, while the Cardinals are at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.