The San Francisco 49ers were swept by the Arizona Cardinals in 2024. In their first meeting last October, the Cardinals pulled out a close one, winning 24-23. It was a game the 49ers should have won, but it ended up going the same way as multiple division games last season, with the 49ers failing to hold onto a 4th quarter lead.
In that first game, Cardinals QB Kyle Murray scored on a 50-yard touchdown run on Arizona's second offensive play. Murray only had 195 yards passing, but he had 83 yards rushing.
During their second meeting, the final week of the season, in which Arizona scored 47 points on San Francisco's defense, Murray only rushed for 22 yards, but threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns. He was not sacked a single time.
So, how will 49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh approach slowing Murray down on Sunday? Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco that it's not about having a spy on Murray, but rather working as a unit.
"I think it's more a collective thing," Shanahan said. "You have to collapse that pocket. I've seen, we have lots of tape on when that pocket's not collapsed, and he can escape in the V gap, and that spy is right there with him. And if he has room to run away from somebody and those d-ends aren't coming back and making him not, to take angles away from people, it really doesn't matter what that spy does. If one guy has an angle on him, he's going to outrun that angle. So you need two guys wherever it is. So he has to change that and then run back into someone.
"And when that happens, he'll slide and get down. But if there's this one guy chasing him, he's outrunning that guy. So it's a collective effort. He's going to get you sometimes, regardless of how you do it. But it's also what makes it so hard about going against Kyler. You sleep on him all game. He only needs one of them. I mean, we had it last year on the second play of the game, just like that. And it can happen any time with him."
Murray, the former Heisman Trophy winner who was taken number one overall in 2019, is a dynamic athlete. The former Oklahoma Sooner ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. And though he has dealt with injuries throughout his NFL career, Murray doesn't appear to be slowing down.
The 49ers will have their hands full on Sunday. But one area where the defense is different this season (other than Saleh) is speed. The 2025 49ers' defense is younger but also faster.
"If you're a slow defense, it's going to catch up with you regardless who you play," Shanahan added. "But when you play Kyler, who's as fast as anyone in this league, it's a huge problem.
"So having more guys out there who can run is very good, but it definitely takes all 11. You're not going to really have one guy just chase him down, but your overall team speed is huge. The young guys that we've added, fortunately, do have some pretty good forties. And regardless of their 40, they play fast. They don't hesitate. Their reaction is very good, and I've really liked what I've seen with them so far."
If the 49ers are going to slow down Murray on Sunday, it will be because they use that team speed and work together as a group. If that happens, the 49ers have a great chance to win this game and improve to 3-0.
Watch the full interview below:
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