Arizona Cardinals MVP: Week 5 vs. the San Francisco 49ers

J.J. Watt finished with three tackles and a pass breakup for the Arizona Cardinals in their win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

It was possibly the ugliest win of the year for the Arizona Cardinals, but the defense is what saved the team from suffering their first loss of the season, after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 17-10.

J.J. Watt did not have the best numbers in their win, but he was the key piece in Arizona’s victory. He pressured 49ers quarterback Trey Lance multiple times throughout the game, and he had a clutch pass breakup on a fourth down when San Francisco was on the attack.

Watt’s three tackles were the most he’s had in a single game this season, and his two tackles for a loss were also in big moments, where he blew up two different run plays that could have ended in big yards for the 49ers.

What was probably the deciding factor of the game, however, was Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons preventing Lance from getting into the end zone on a fourth-down run. Simmons’ tackle stopped Lance at the 1-yard line, which more than likely could have won San Francisco the game.

Budda Baker also came up big for Arizona as well, getting an interception on the first drive of the game. The interception set up the Cardinals’ offense for an easy touchdown, and it was a defensive battle from there.

Arizona Cardinals offense sloppy in win over San Francisco 49ers

Arizona’s offense was not as dominant as it was in last week’s win against the Los Angeles Rams. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had his worst passing performance of the season so far, where he finished with 239 passing yards and a touchdown. He also suffered an injury on his arm in the second half of the game, causing his throws to be a little off.

Arizona’s run game was also non-existent on Sunday. After combining for 170 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams last week, Cardinals running backs Chase Edmonds and James Conner combined for just 45 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown against the 49ers.

Next week, the 5-0 Cardinals will head on the road to take on the 3-2 Cleveland Browns, who just had their three-game win streak snapped on Sunday by the Los Angeles Chargers.