SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Arizona Cardinals spent the past week trying to bounce back from their tough loss to the Washington Commanders, and on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium they looked healthy again with a 24-23 comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals in the sweltering heat The NFC West is the San Francisco 49ers.

The Cardinals needed a 35-yard field goal from kicker Chad Ryland, who was signed on Wednesday while Matt Prater was dealing with knee soreness. With 1:37 minutes left in the game they secured the crucial points and put the finishing touches to an emotional and focused week. They ended with a 2-3 record but 2-0 in the division.

“This league is really tough and I was frustrated with the way we played in the first half,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. “I felt like we moved the ball well and got the interception to get the blocked field goal. I feel like the result didn’t reflect how well we moved the ball and how we played.”

“When I said, ‘This league is tough,’ there was very little margin for error and I feel like we didn’t necessarily give up the game, but we took the chances that we had when we got there, Just didn’t use it.” and getting the ball into the end zone was extremely frustrating for us.

The Cardinals made a statement on their first offensive possession when Murray caught a 50-yard touchdown pass on the second play. As he reached the 44-yard line, Murray pointed, knowing there was nothing but green grass between him and the end zone.

“As soon as (tight end Elijah Higgins) got the block and I fended off those two guys, I was gone,” Murray said. “It doesn’t happen often in the NFL, but it was good to finally be able to get a long run. It was fun.”

From then on, the Cardinals’ scoring stagnated. Running back James Conner had just nine yards on six carries at halftime before finishing with 86. The passing game found its rhythm, but not the end zone. Arizona scored just six more points — two field goals by Ryland — until the start of the fourth quarter.

At that point, Arizona took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and marched 73 yards in 6:27. He ended the drive with a touchdown pass from Murray to Higgins, which brought Arizona within 23:21.

Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t play much of a role Sunday until he scored a game-winning first down late in the fourth. To that point, he had caught just one pass on six targets for 22 yards, his last target coming with 14:17 left in the third quarter. Then, with 2:49 left in the game, Murray went back to Harrison for the fourth and fifth points of her own 40 for a play that Gannon called a “must have it.”

If they missed, Arizona would have given the ball back to San Francisco to run out the clock. But with pressure in his face, Murray hit Harrison on the left side of the field for a 14-yard gain to put Arizona into San Francisco territory. Harrison finished the game with two catches for 36 yards.

“We’ll be better again,” Murray said. “He’s young. This is our fifth game together, we will do it. I’m not worried at all, but this just shows the confidence and trust. Fourth down, who do I go to? One-on-one against Marv, I trust Marv to win and I trust all the guys to win, but that was huge, I think, for his confidence and for us to stay there and keep the chains moving hold .”

Murray gained 13 yards on the next play and Conner had 10 yards on the next play. At the two-minute warning, Arizona had the ball at the Niners 23. Four plays later, Ryland hit a 35-yard field goal to give Arizona the lead.

“They went crazy in the locker room (for Ryland),” Gannon said after the game. “…half the guys don’t even know him.”

With 92 seconds left, San Francisco got the ball back at their own 27 line. Murray, standing on the sideline, couldn’t bear to watch.

“I hated it. I hated it,” Murray said. “Yeah, I honestly hated it. I didn’t want to give them the ball back. I didn’t want that. I was hoping we could convert and end the game on our terms. That didn’t happen.”

“It depends on trusting the guys. Trusting them to perform and playing free football. They supported us the whole game.”

In fact, they did. Despite losing 384 yards, the 49ers blocked a field goal in the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown to take a 20–10 lead, and 49ers linebacker Nick Bosa intercepted Murray with a screen pass on the defense on the ensuing drive the Cardinals didn’t back down. They held San Francisco at the 10-yard line or center four times, allowed three field goals and recovered a fumble, for possibly four touchdowns. It’s a sign of resilience, Gannon said.

“But we knew they were going to postpone it,” Gannon said. “That’s a good offense, man. They were top of the league and being able to keep points there was huge.”

“I’m proud of the way they fought, man. I really am.”

The forced fumble and subsequent recovery was one of three turnovers by the defense. Another came on the 49ers’ final drive that sealed the game. On first-and-10 at the San Francisco 42, safety Jalen Thompson blitzed untouched and hit Niners quarterback Brock Purdy as he was throwing, causing the ball to bounce in the air. Linebacker Kyzir White came through, sparking a second half in which Arizona shut out the 49ers and moved into second place in the NFC West while helping complete last week’s performance.

“They were fired up. They were fired up,” Gannon said. “They know it’s a good football team. And last week we didn’t have a good performance and they kind of took that in. I don’t want to talk about that right now, but at the beginning of this week we put the arrow in the forehead and focused all our energy on San Fran.

“We had a really good week of training. Our captains have improved. The leadership I felt this week was tremendous. All four of these guys. (Wide Receiver Greg) Dortch was instrumental this week with energy and focus. That’s why it was him.” He’s a game captain.

“But we have a lot of good players in our dressing room and the reaction was right. Now we have to learn from this and move on to the next game because we are going to play a really good football team in Green Bay.”