SANTA CLARA — The 49ers have never been hotter heading into the postseason. But their 10-game winning streak, which set a franchise record for consecutive wins by the end of the regular season, means little now that the NFL playoffs are set to begin.
The 49ers secured second place in the NFC with a 38-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy kept doing what he does – throwing touchdown passes and winning games.
The 49ers (13-4) are 6-0 after Purdy replaced Jimmy Garoppolo as a starter in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13. San Francisco lost 7-3 when Purdy came into play.
The 49ers will host the No. 7 (the Seattle Seahawks or Green Bay Packers) at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. The NFL will announce playoff game dates and times late Sunday.
Here are three takeaways from the 49ers’ easy win over the Cardinals (4-13):
Purdy consistently as the starter of the 49ers
His touchdown pass to George Kittle in the late second quarter gave Purdy his second touchdown pass of the game, matching his previous NFL high, which he had in each of his first five games since switching to the starting role after Garoppolo’s broken foot .
Purdy threw two touchdown passes in games against Miami, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Washington and Las Vegas. He later added a third touchdown pass against the Cardinals — also for Kittle.
Purdy’s ability to find Kittle in the back of the end zone in the second quarter when he was doing it also highlighted one of Purdy’s hallmarks since his acquisition. He’s shown a knack for how coach Kyle Shanahan milks the clock in the late half and breaks possession with a touchdown.
The 49ers took over at 4:41 in the first half after the Cardinals’ touchdown cut the 49ers’ lead to 14-13. San Francisco went on an intentional nine-play 66-yard touchdown drive, culminating with Purdy’s touchdown pass to Kittle.
That was essentially the end of the first half, and the 49ers scored 14 points without the Cardinals gaining possession.
The second half started with the 49ers receiving the kickoff and putting it down the field with a touchdown for a 28-13 lead.
Purdy completed 15 of 20 attempts for 178 yards with three touchdown passes, no interceptions, and a 141.2 passer rating.
Purdy took his last snap at 1:01 in the third quarter when his third touchdown pass of the day — and his second to Kittle — gave the 49ers a 38-13 lead.
Mitchell is regaining momentum
Running back Elijah Mitchell made his second return of the season after a long absence due to MCL injuries.
In those two games, Mitchell showed absolutely no rust. In his first game earlier this season, he had 18 carries for 89 yards, and on Sunday he gained 55 yards and two touchdowns in just five rushing attempts.
Mitchell proved he still had the momentum as he took a back pass from Purdy, picked up blocks from Deebo Samuel and Kyle Juszczyk and rushed 37 yards down the right touchline in the third quarter.
On the next play, Mitchell picked up left tackle for a 6-yard touchdown.
Earlier, Mitchell scored on a 5-yard touchdown run that gave the 49ers a 14-6 lead.
Those were Mitchell’s first two touchdowns of the season after scoring seven goals as a rookie. He has only played five games this season.
Mitchell’s availability for the postseason gives the 49ers more opportunities to pair up with running back Christian McCaffrey, who was the team’s sixth leading rusher in the sixth season with Shanahan as head coach.
Gipson and Bosa lead the 49ers’ defense
Defensive end Nick Bosa fell a sack short of the 49ers’ team record, but the day was still a success.
Safety Tashaun Gipson came on with two interceptions to help the 49ers build a big lead late in the three quarters. This cushion gave the 49ers the luxury of moving some of their frontline players to the sidelines.
The Cardinals started David Blough as quarterback, and he provided Gipson with two of the easier interceptions he had in his NFL career.
Gipson finished the regular season with five team-high interceptions, three of which occurred in the last two weeks of the season.
His interception and 56-yard interception return was the key game in the 49ers’ 37-34 overtime win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17.
The 49ers received contributions from unheralded defensemen Jordan Willis, who had a sack streak, and Michael Dwumfour.
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Dwumfour, who was promoted from the practice team, made a stop on Blough’s quarterback sneak in the first half on a fourth down play. Then he recovered from Blough’s fumbling with Willis’ sack. That snack led to a 49ers touchdown late in the third quarter. Backup safety George Odum picked up an interception late in the game on Reserve Cardinals quarterback Trace McSorley.