The 49ers replaced kicker Jake Moody because he could no longer be trusted.
On Sunday, they had no such issues with Eddy Pineiro.
San Francisco’s latest kicker drove a walk-off, 35-yard field goal through the uprights to give the 49ers a 16-15 victory over the Cardinals — pushing the team to 3-0 on the young season.
Arizona had taken a 15-13 lead with just 3:15 left in the contest when the 49ers were flagged for offensive holding in the end zone. But quarterback Kyler Murray and company could not keep possession for the rest of the game, as a pass to Zay Jones on third-and-9 from midfield was broken up and incomplete.
To make matters worse for the Cardinals, the punt went into the end zone for a touchback, giving San Francisco the ball at its own 20-yard line with one timeout and 1:46 on the clock.
Starting in place of the injured Brock Purdy for the second week in a row, quarterback Mac Jones delivered. Consecutive passes to Kendrick Bourne put the team in Arizona territory. But the big play was a 20-yard screen from Jones to Christian McCaffrey, which put the 49ers on the Arizona 16.
The 49ers didn’t even have to use their timeout to make it that far, with Jones spiking the ball before centering it with a kneel down to set up Pineiro for the 35-yard attempt.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon elected not to try to ice the kicker with a timeout, and Pineiro drilled the 35-yard attempt to win the game.
San Francisco finished 2-of-10 on third down, but had 19 first downs and 355 total yards. Jones was 27-of-41 for 284 yards with a touchdown and an interception. McCaffrey had 52 yards rushing on 17 attempts, but 88 yards receiving on 10 catches. Ricky Pearsall also had 117 yards on eight receptions for a thin receiving corps.
Kyle Juszczyk caught Jones’ touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
On the other side, Kyler Murray finished 22-of-35 for 159 yards with a touchdown. With James Conner exiting the game on a cart due to an ankle injury, running back Trey Benson led the team with 42 yards rushing on 10 carries. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught three passes for 44 yards.
Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland connected on 34-yard and 28-yard field goals, but missed a 57-yard attempt early in the contest.
Now in first place in the NFC West at 3-0, the 49ers will look to stay undefeated against the 2-1 Jaguars next week.
At 2-1, the Cardinals have a short week as they will host the 2-1 Seahawks on Thursday night.
