Some say there's no such thing as an ugly win. Regardless of how Thursday night's game looked, the Cardinals got a much-needed victory.
Even as both offenses struggled, the Cardinals capitalized on three San Francisco turnovers for a 33-21 win at Levi's Stadium.
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The Cardinals (2-3) scored 17 points off the 49ers turnovers.
Drew Stanton got the start at quarterback for the Cardinals with Carson Palmer dealing with a concussion. Stanton was not sharp, going 11 of 28 for 124 yards, though he did throw a pair of touchdown passes and did not turn the ball over. Both scores went to Larry Fitzgerald, who finished with six receptions for 81 yards on the night.
"Drew did a great job of stepping in. Nobody pressed," Fitzgerald told CBS Sports. "Just being able to get a win gives you so much confidence. It wasn't just one group that got it done. Everybody put their hands in the pile."
San Francisco's Blaine Gabbert also had trouble finding open receivers. Gabbert was 18 of 31 for 162 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran for 70 yards on 10 attempts with a late touchdown. Jeremy Kerley was Gabbert's favorite target with a game-high eight catches for 102 yards.
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Kerley scored the game's first touchdown to cap a 10-play, 87-yard drive in the second quarter, as Gabbert completed all four of his passes to him.
But it was the only sustained drive of the first half for either team.
The Cardinals played much of the game in San Francisco's backfield, racking up seven sacks and five tackles for loss. Second-year linebacker Markus Golden was a one-man wrecking crew with 10 tackles (two for loss) and a pair of sacks. He also hit Gabbert, a fellow St. Louis native and Missouri alumnus, another three times.
But it was a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage that swung momentum toward the Cardinals early.
Chandler Jones batted Gabbert's pass into the air and Calais Campbell snared it for an interception.
Blaine Gabbert's pass is tipped...
— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2016
And PICKED by @Campbell93 !
📱💻: https://t.co/uYKwzdd9JF
📺: @nfloncbs #TNF #AZvsSF https://t.co/BvtwMuFUi7
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Stanton hit Fitzgerald on the very next play for a 21-yard touchdown to get the Cardinals on the board. Campbell's interception was out of the two-minute warning and three plays after 49ers running back Carlos Hyde was penalized for taunting.
While Fitzgerald found the end zone twice, it was running back David Johnson who did the most damage for the Cardinals. Johnson ran for 157 yards on 27 carries and caught three passes for 28 yards. After San Francisco's Chris Davis fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, Johnson scored on a 4-yard run to give the Cardinals a 14-7 lead with 12:45 remaining in the third quarter. He added a second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Johnson's 157 yards are a season-high in the NFL so far. It was the second 100-yard rushing game of Johnson's two-year career. He ran for 187 yards last season in a win over the Eagles, who were coached by current 49ers coach Chip Kelly.
The Cardinals, once thought to be Super Bowl contenders, needed the win to salvage their season. Dropping to 1-4 would have made it nearly impossible to make the playoffs. Only 6 percent of teams to start 1-4 since the playoffs expanded in 1990 have reached the postseason. That doesn't bode well for the 49ers, who are at Buffalo a week from Sunday.
Three of Arizona's next four games are at home, including two against NFC West opponents in Seattle and San Francisco. If they can win those games, a division title could be within their grasp.