The San Francisco 49ers rolled to four-straight wins on Sunday with a 35-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. A big-time output by the 49ers offense was the name of the game with running back Christian McCaffrey leading the charge. The seventh-year pro punched four red zone touchdowns on the day, and quarterback Brock Purdy closed out the scoring with a fourth quarter QB sneak. With the win, the 49ers have extended their regular season win streak to 14-straight games dating back to Week 8 of the 2022 campaign.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from head coach Kyle Shanahan:
The 49ers have four players with outstanding injuries headed into Week 5.
San Francisco's injury list now includes offensive lineman Jon Feliciano (concussion) after Sunday's matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Feliciano was ruled out in the second half of the contest and per Shanahan, is in concussion protocol.
The three other players dealing with carryover injuries from last week are wide receiver Deebo Samuel (knee, ribs), running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) and wide receiver Jauan Jennings (shin) are all being considered day-to-day.
Shanahan doubled down on his praise of quarterback Brock Purdy and San Francisco's offensive line versus the Cardinals.
Quarterback Brock Purdy was near perfect on the stat sheet after completing 20-of-21 pass attempts for 283 yards, a touchdown and QB sneak against the Cardinals. The head coach reaffirmed his initial thoughts regarding Purdy's stellar performance and gave props to the offensive line who surrendered just three-total pressures (1.0 sack) and allowed the rest of the offensive weapons to put make some big-time plays on the ground and through the air. It's just a small sample size, but the O-line is on an upward trajectory as the season progresses.
"Yesterday they were unbelievable," Shanahan said. "They had some pretty big challenges in Week 1. They've had a little bit each week, but Week 1 was probably the toughest so far. This week coming up will be another huge challenge."
Shanahan offered a brief look ahead to the challenge that the Dallas Cowboys pass rush will be for the 49ers offensive line.
"I just saw their pass rush and how fast they play," Shanahan said. "(Defensive coordinator) Dan Quinn is as good as anyone on D-line.
"In general, one of the biggest tests for every team in the NFL is how much better you get each game because the lack of practice and stuff that big people get in the offseason compared to what it takes to be ready, it's just not enough. No one is ever there in Week 1, especially up front... The more games you can stay healthy and the more games you can play together, usually you get better throughout the year."
The Dallas pass rushing unit is headlined by All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons, and through these first four games, the group has racked up 95 total pressures (14.0 sacks). Meanwhile, the 49ers O-line has showed notable improvement over the course of the last three weeks, allowing just two additional sacks in those games after giving up three in the season opener.
