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Arizona Cardinals: Game balls vs San Francisco 49ers

By Scott Allen

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The Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 47-7 on Sunday

So much went right for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.  It is very hard to find just a few guys to give game balls to.  However the job must be done and there were a few guys whose play stood out more than others on Sunday in the Cardinals 47-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

The stars once again were on both offense and defense.  The defense got things started and the offense continued what the defense started.

Here are Sunday’s game balls:

The first game ball needs to go to safety Tyrann Mathieu.  This guy is showing what it is like to have a veteran Mathieu and a healthy Mathieu.  Having to end his first season with a torn ACL and not becoming 100 percent until late in the 2014 season, it was hard to get a true sense of reality with him in the Cardinals defensive backfield.

Mathieu though had two interceptions on Sunday, the first one was returned 33-yards for a touchdown.  The second one was a great play where he had to keep his balance to stay in bounds and then turn around and take it 17-yards down field.

Game ball number two must go to receiver Larry Fitzgerald.  He had another fantastic week.  After eight receptions for 112 yards and three touchdowns against the Chicago Bears in week two, he followed that up with nine receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday against the 49ers. At 32 years old he certainly is making a lot of fans look silly in demanding his trade while he still had value last season.  As I told a lot of people last season, the Cardinals were not phasing the face of the franchise out.  He needed Carson Palmer, a veteran quarterback who knew how to find the right receivers.  He is certainly making the Cardinals front office look smart in the new contract they gave him in the offseason.

The third game ball has to be given to running back Chris Johnson.  Johnson showed Cardinals fans there is life in the backfield despite starting running back Andre Ellington missing his second straight game.  Johnson rushed 22 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.  He also had one reception for 40 yards.

For the second week in a row I have to give out a fourth game ball.  I normally only give three but linebacker Kevin Minter has started to show why the Cardinals drafted him in 2013.  He had eight tackles, two for losses on Sunday.  One of those two tackles for a loss included a safety of 49ers running back Carlos Hyde.  It was a play of great penetration of the Cardinals defense and Minter was the first to hit him in the end zone.

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