After picking through the first-half film of the 49ers’ 19-13 loss to Arizona, here’s what stood out.
1. The offense prepared quarterback Blaine Gabbert to have 2 seconds or less in the pocket against the Cardinals’ constant blitzes and fierce pass rush. Passes were quick and unfortunately, often short of the sticks on third down. If the 49ers were in third-and-8 or longer, there wasn’t enough time to get past the third-down marker, hence the woeful third-down ratio. Nevertheless, Gabbert did extremely well with his seconds. He also bought more time by moving in the pocket and finding receivers on the team’s two-minute drive at the end of the half.