The San Francisco 49ers' best players, including quarterback Brock Purdy, continued to lead the team to a 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Farm Stadium.
The 49ers (11-3) ensured they finished atop the National Association West Section with this sixth straight win. The Los Angeles Rams (7-7), who also won on Sunday, will no longer be able to get close to them in the last three regular duels.
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Purdy threw four touchdown passes for the second time in three games. It is also the third time this season that he has managed to do this without falling victim to interceptions. Many consider the 23-year-old quarterback to be the winning MVP, and since he is at the top of most stats at his position, the Iowa State product appears to be the favorite.
Christian McCaffrey continued his exceptional year with three majors, including two in catches. While the running back leads the NFL with 20 touchdowns — tied with Raheem Mostert — he isn't always the subject of close coverage. For his second touchdown of the night, despite a fall from “CMC,” no Cardinals player was nearby.
Deebo Samuel ended this very productive meeting with two touchdowns of his own. The offensive line also had its say, as Purdy was not a victim of quarterback sacks.
Prescott neutralized
The other quarterback many see in the running for MVP is Dak Prescott, but the Dallas Cowboys center didn't look particularly good in a 31-20 loss to the Bills in Buffalo.
Highmark Stadium is not an easy place to play, and even the mighty Cowboys (10-4) got caught up in the game. Prescott completed just 21 of 34 pass attempts and threw one interception. This is the first time since the first week of activity that he has not had a touchdown pass in a game.
To end the visitors' five-game winning streak, the Bills (8-6) focused on the ground game. James Cook rushed for 179 yards on 25 carries and center Josh Allen was happy with 15 passes, only seven of which reached their destination. Cook, Allen and Latavius Murray crossed the Majors end zone.
The Bills still have hope of catching up with the Miami Dolphins (10-4) at the top of the American East Section. They will face the latter on January 7th in their last duel of the season.