Turns out, all it took for the Cardinals to break a five-game losing streak to the 49ers were three long pass plays, a "fake field goal, red flag challenge," a superlative defensive performance and a backup quarterback with a short-term memory problem.
Who knew?
The 2011 Cardinals are stubborn, creative and often maddening for their fans to watch. Their 21-19 victory on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium snapped the losing streak to the 49ers, and more importantly, was the fifth victory in six games for the Cardinals.
At 6-7, the Cardinals remain in the playoff picture, even if they're in the fourth row, behind Aunt Edna.
"It kind of (ticks) you off a little bit because we know the team we were capable of being," receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "The way we're playing now and the way we were playing earlier during the six-game skid just really makes you upset."
The Cardinals won despite committing three turnovers, three more than the 49ers. They won after losing starting quarterback Kevin Kolb to a head injury on the first series. They won after a disastrous opening to the second half left them 12 points behind.
To the 49ers (10-3), who are as conservative as wingtips, that's usually insurmountable.
But the Cardinals took over after running back Frank Gore ran 37 yards for a touchdown on the 49ers' first play of the second half.
"We were resilient today and that's what it's all about," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
After Gore's touchdown, the 49ers only one of the day, San Francisco gained just one first down the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, backup John Skelton hit Fitzgerald with two long passes. Fitzgerald scored on one from 46 yards, and a 53-yarder set up a touchdown reception by Andre Roberts with 11:50 remaining.
The defense made the 21-19 score hold up.
"That's the beauty of this defense right now," end Calais Campbell said. "No matter what happens, we respond."
Kolb was forced from the game after 49ers outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks inadvertently kneed him in the head after Kolb was sacked on the Cardinals third play of the game.
The Cardinals offensive struggles contributed to the 49ers having ball inside the Arizona 10 on three occasions in the first half. David Akers kicked field goals each time.
Whisenhunt helped, too, with a fortuitous decision to challenge a reception by the 49ers in the second quarter. The 49ers appeared to successfully run a fake field goal that would have put them inside the Cardinals 10, but it was waved off because of Whisenhunt's challenge of the previous play.
It might have been one of the better challenges in franchise history. An obvious catch couldn't be reviewed because of an equipment malfunction. So the Cardinals weren't charged with a timeout or a challenge.
Akers missed an ensuing 50-yard field goal attempt, and on the next play, Skelton hit receiver Early Doucet for a 60-yard touchdown.
Instead of possibly trailing 13-0, the Cardinals were ahead, 7-6.
"Luckily we used our 'fake field-goal, red-flag challenge,'" Whisenhunt said, smiling. "That was big and obviously they didn't get any points off of it."
Outside linebacker Clark Haggans said the fake field-goal challenge is something the Cardinals work on "all the time."
"Whiz, I saw him in the locker room right before the game started, he was practicing pulling the red flag out of his sock and throwing it on the field. I didn't know when he was going to use it but his timing was impeccable."
Obviously, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh did not see the humor in the play. He protested the call to the officials.
"We were watching them and we didn't feel like they got that challenge off," Harbaugh said.
The 49ers' style lends itself to close games, but after Gore's touchdown, they gained only 41 more yards.
Skelton, meanwhile, did just enough. He completed 19 of 28 for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Those three long pass plays accounted for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
"That's the role of a backup quarterback," Skelton said. "You never know when or where or how, but you've got to be prepared."
Skelton is in his second season and his inexperience shows at times. But he doesn't dwell on mistakes and he's resilient, qualities the rest of the team seems to possess, too.
"You (media) guys stuck a fork in us quite awhile ago," Whisenhunt said. "I think our guys never let it get to them. How many times during those first weeks did we say that we were going to stay the course and it was going to turn for us?
"We believed it."
Cardinals report
Key player: Receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught 7 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He had a 46-yard touchdown reception and a 53-yard reception that set up another score. He threw a key block on Early Doucet's 60-yard touchdown reception.
Key moment: The 49ers scored on their first possession of the second half to take a 19-7 lead. The Cardinals responded with a 46-yard touchdown from John Skelton to Fitzgerald. If the Cardinals hadn't answered at that point, they probably wouldn't have won.
Injury report: QB Kevin Kolb (concussion symptoms) will be evaluated in the coming days. QB John Skelton (knee) has been able to practice and play fully . It isn't expected to limit him.
Quote: "When I heard it, I got real ornery. If you heard the speech I gave the team before we stretched, you can tell how ornery I was. Lot of cussin' going on. It was really passionate, from the heart. Five times? That's just not how we do things." -- offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges on the Cardinals five-game losing streak to the 49ers.
Up next: Cleveland Browns (4-9) vs. Cardinals (6-7), 2:15 p.m. Sunday, University of Phoenix Stadium.
View from the press box
With the Cardinals now at 6-7, many people seem to be looking back and cursing the close games they lost. What if, they ask, the team hadn't blown games against the Redskins, Giants and Ravens? But you can take the opposite view, too, and say the team had no business beating the Panthers, Rams or Cowboys. As the cliche goes, you are what you are. Sometimes cliches are cliches for a reason. They contain the truth.
