Rapid reactions: What to take away from Cardinals’ Week 18 win over 49ers

The Arizona Cardinals enter the offseason coming off a victory, as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 47-24 in Sunday’s season finale.

Kyler Murray threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns and the defense forced three turnovers in a game without any playoff implications.

Arizona doubled its win total from 2023 with an 8-9 record, good for third place in the NFC West. There will be pressure for this team to make a jump to the playoffs next season.

Here are reactions to Arizona’s final win of the season from Arizona Sports’ hosts and reporters:

Reaction from our staff to Cardinals win vs. 49ers

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo:

What do you take out of a meaningless game that ends the season? Not much. The Cardinals played very well today and it was good to see them get up for this game and execute the game plan to near perfection. Kyler Murray had his way with a bad 49ers secondary and padded his season stats with 4 touchdown passes. Good for him because he came into the game with 17 so it got him over the hump of 20 touchdowns. My prediction before the season was 9-8 and they finished 8-9. It is a four-game improvement from last season — that is pretty good. What wasn’t good was going 2-5 down the stretch to end the season.

Now the real work begins for GM Monti Ossenfort identifying the needs of this team and addressing them. Figuring out who is a part of the next Cardinals team and who is not. What to do with Kyler. His season overall was pretty mediocre as has been most of his time in Arizona. He is not a bad quarterback. He is not a great quarterback. He is ok. You can win some games with him. Do you bring in a veteran backup? Do you draft a QB in the second/third round? Do you consider trading him? Or do you ride it out with him for one more season and if things don’t drastically improve you cut your losses after seven seasons? It is likely Murray is back next season but things have to be better for this era of Cardinals football to continue beyond 2025. More wins, better QB play and an offense that scares people are in order. Can Murray do it? Time will tell. So far he has done it here and there just not consistent enough to say for sure he is the future.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo:

The reaction to the game is pretty neutral. The Cardinals scored 40 points. Kyler had a really good game. Marvin Harrison Jr. had a TD. The Cards forced 3 turnovers. They’re not empty calories but the stakes were so low going into the game it’s not the kind of performance that creates momentum or builds towards the future. By the time the Cardinals open the 2025 season, this game will long be forgotten.

What we remember will be up to you. I’ll remember the six wins at the bye and only getting two wins over the final seven games. Maybe that’s not fair and the year-to-year accomplishments deserve more respect. Again, it’s up to you. But this season let me down. This team was in a position of strength and it was squandered and to me that’s what matters the most. Doubling the win total and getting three wins in the division compared to none a year ago is important. But fading down the stretch matters more to me.

Much will be said about this offseason. We all know they need an edge rusher. We all know that money needs to be spent and a commitment needs to be made. We all know Marvin Harrison Jr. needs to make a greater impact. What we don’t know is Kyler Murray’s ability to improve. Is there more there? Is this it? Is it a function of the talent around him? I’m deeply concerned that one more year won’t make a difference, that his ceiling is their ceiling, and he’s reached it.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta: 

I wasn’t really eagerly awaiting Sunday’s season finale for the Cardinals, and it’s hard to take much out of their 47-24 win over the 49ers at State Farm Stadium.

Yes, Kyler Murray played well. He threw four touchdown passes for the third time in his career. He didn’t turn the ball over — only the second time that’s happened post-bye week. Not coincidentally, the Cardinals won both of those games.

This is the type of game that Kyler supporters will point to, citing his tantalizing potential. It’s the type of game Kyler detractors will point to and say “where was that when the games mattered?”  The Kyler debate has raged for six full seasons in the desert, and it’s not ending anytime soon.

Trey McBride continues to be a stud. Saw some nice things from Marvin Harrison Jr. Greg Dortch was used well in the offense.

The defense was terrible in the first half but improved and played aggressively in the second half.

Their four-win improvement over last year isn’t insignificant. It does put a little wind in the team’s sails going into the offseason. But the front office has a lot of work to do. The same personnel needs that were evident a year ago remain needs.  Edge rusher, line depth on both sides, shutdown corner, linebacker and wide receiver positions need to be improved if this team wants to rise above mediocrity, which is what they displayed over the last seven weeks of the season.

Tyler Drake, lead Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner:

Say what you want about the 2024 Cardinals, but at least they played to the final whistle. In a meaningless game with zero postseason implications, Arizona didn’t lay down in its season finale win over San Francisco. For the first time in a while, the offense was much more sound. Crazy what will happen when your franchise quarterback keeps the ball out of the other team’s hands. Kyler Murray looked like his first-half-of-the-year self behind four touchdowns and a noticeable rhythm. And maybe Greg Dortch should have gotten some more touches! Gannon isn’t big on momentum, but at least the Cardinals can head into what should be a very busy offseason on a high note. One thing is for sure, though, posting a sub-.500 record in Year 3 of this new regime cannot happen.

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