Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-28 · by Josh Dubow The Associated Press
Brock Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers to a 36-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals despite significant injuries to key players like Mike Evans and Trent Williams. Purdy threw four touchdown passes, including one on a trick play involving a hook-and-ladder exchange with Deebo Samuel. The win extends the 49ers' record to 3-0 this season, with Purdy boasting an impressive 133.1 passer rating and 10 total touchdowns in his first three games as a starter.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The San Francisco 49ers secured a crucial victory over the Arizona Cardinals with a final score of 36-30 on September 27 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. Despite facing multiple injuries, including those to star players like Mike Evans and Trent Williams, quarterback Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes, one of which came via a trick play involving a pitch from Evans to Deebo Samuel for an 80-yard score. The 49ers improved their record to 3-0 this season but suffered significant injuries that could impact future games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals' defense continued to struggle, failing to secure any sacks against Purdy and allowing him to throw four touchdowns without interceptions, highlighting issues in defensive execution similar to those seen in previous seasons.
Written for “49ers Vs Cardinals NFL Game” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
The San Francisco 49ers keep losing key players to injuries and still keep winning, thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Brock Purdy.
asserted
49ers → keep → Purdy
Purdy threw four touchdown passes, with the first coming on a trick play, and the injury-depleted 49ers held on for a 36-30 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
asserted
49ers → throw → Sunday
San Francisco lost wide receiver Mike Evans to a rib injury in the first half and left tackle Trent Williams to a stinger in the second half, but still managed to hold on to start 3-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.
asserted
Francisco → lose → seasons
“It’s the NFL, it sucks when your teammates go down, but that’s part of the game,” Purdy said.
asserted
Purdy → ’ → game
“As a quarterback, it’s also part of handling that and doing what I can, which is my job.”
asserted
which → ’ → that
Purdy is doing that very well with his 10 total touchdowns — pass and rushing — tied for the most in franchise history after three games as he leads the league with a 133.1 passer rating.
asserted
he → do → rating
“Brock is amazing,” linebacker Fred Warner said.
asserted
Warner → say → ?
“The offense is humming right now.
asserted
offense → hum → ?
It’s our job as a defense to make sure that we handle our business.
asserted
we → ’ → business
The game began well for the Niners before the injuries started mounting and they found themselves in a tight game against the Cardinals (1-2), who have lost 22 of their last 26 games in the division.
asserted
who → begin → division
Purdy helped ice it when he threw a 20-yard TD pass to George Kittle with 1:31 to play.
asserted
he → ice → 1:31
The Cardinals added a late field goal, but Deebo Samuel recovered an onside kick to seal the win.
asserted
Samuel → add → win
Coach Kyle Shanahan dialed up a hook-and-ladder call on San Francisco’s third play from scrimmage to turn a precarious third-and-12 from deep in 49ers territory into an 82-yard score.
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Shanahan → dial → score
Purdy threw a quick 6-yard pass to Evans, who flipped it back 4 yards to a sprinting Samuel as he was being tackled well short of the first down.
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he → throw → down
Samuel then sprinted down the sideline, ran through a tackle attempt by Budda Baker near midfield and scored to make it 7-0 on an 82-yard play.
asserted
it → sprint → play
“It was crazy because we walked through that play like once this week,” Samuel said.
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Samuel → walk → play
“It’s kind of crazy.
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It → ’ → ?
Once I saw Mike catch the ball and there was two guys on him, I was like if I get around here, there won’t be anybody.
asserted
I → see → him
Budda showed up and I showed the speed that people don’t think I got.”
asserted
I → show → that
Purdy then connected on a 23-yard TD pass to Evans on the second drive and the Niners built the lead to 23-6 when Christian McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard run on the opening drive of the second half.
asserted
McCaffrey → connect → half
But Arizona fought back as Jacoby Brissett threw two TD passes on the next three possessions, connecting on a 5-yarder to Michael Wilson and a 1-yarder to Jeremiyah Love after the Niners lost the ball on a muffed punt.
asserted
Niners → fight → punt
But the 49ers answered with a touchdown drive that was aided when Josh Sweat was called for roughing the passer after an apparent third-down stop.
asserted
Sweat → answer → stop
Purdy then found Kittle on a 10-yard score to make it 29-20 even though Eddy Pineiro missed his second extra point of the game.
asserted
Pineiro → find → game
Purdy finished 15 for 27 for 297 yards.
asserted
Purdy → finish → yards
Brissett scored on a 1-yard sneak with 2:51 to play to make it 29-27, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals were hurt by 10 penalties and settling for two field goals on drives to the red zone in the first half.
asserted
Cardinals → score → half
“Any time in the first half when we got something going, and then we’d have self-inflicted wounds,” Brissett said.
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Brissett → get → wounds
“Against good teams, it’s like being a death wish.
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it → ’ → teams
Against good teams, you can’t do that.
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you → do → that
You can’t beat yourself and try to beat them.”
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You → beat → them
Shanahan had no update on the extent of the injuries, but the one to Evans is most concerning as San Francisco is already without receivers Ricky Pearsall, De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson.
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Francisco → have → Pearsall
... Williams returned to the sideline after being taken off on a cart, but didn’t come back into the game.
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Williams → return → game
LB Dre Greenlaw left in the second half with a quadriceps injury.
asserted
Greenlaw → leave → injury
49ers: Host Denver on Sunday.
___
asserted
49ers → host → Sunday
The Aporia
