49ers Studs and Duds: Niners melt down, again, as red-zone woes continue

It was over 100 degrees inside Levi’s Stadium Sunday.

Hot enough for a season to melt away.

The 49ers now stand at 2-3 after yet another late-game choke-job loss, this time to the Arizona Cardinals, who won 24-23.

Here are the studs and duds from the game.

STUDS

Brandon Aiyuk • WR

» That’s what a $30 million wide receiver looks like.

While it’s unsurprising it took Aiyuk some time to round into form, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

Sunday, he was frustrating the Cardinals, ripping off a 53-yard gain on the first play of the Niners’ second drive, setting up a field goal, and adding three more chunk-yard catches to set up the Niners’ first touchdown of the game. He had four catches for 91 yards in the first quarter and ended the game with eight catches for 147 yards.

“It went his way today,” Brock Purdy said of Aiyuk.

Nick Bosa • DE

» He turned in a dominant performance, highlighted by a brilliant interception where he read a screen play, stopped his rush, and had Kyler Murray throw him the ball.

He remains a singular force, though it should be noted he was burned on a Murray read-option that set up the game-winning field goal.

Jordan Elliott • DT

» The defensive end’s blocked field goal, which Deommodore Lenoir returned 61 yards to the end zone, was the game’s highlight for the Niners. It’s a shame we won’t remember it in a few weeks.

DUDS

De’Vondre Campbell • LB

» If you take out the first drive, Campbell played fine. Some up, some down — generally unremarkable.

But the first series — a two-play, 72-yard touchdown drive, saw Campbell burned on a chunk-yard pass and then a 50-yard read-option run from Kyler Murray, where the Cardinals quarterback started pointing at the end zone before he was past the Niners linebacker — was unforgettable.

Every team in the NFL knows to attack No. 59. How much longer can the Niners afford to be so vulnerable?

Brock Purdy • QB

» Sure, he ran around a bunch, tapping into his Russell Wilson spirit, but Purdy had a poor game by his lofty standards Sunday, completing only 19-of-35 passes for 244 yards and throwing two interceptions. He was the second-best quarterback on the field, and Murray had anything but a world-beating game. While the loss isn’t solely on the Niners quarterback — Jordan Mason’s late fumble deep in Arizona territory and the Cardinals’ fourth-down conversion not long after stand out — he wasn’t good enough to cover up his team’s shortcomings. The San Francisco offense scored one touchdown Sunday. That’s a dud performance.

The 49ers’ red-zone offense

» It was already awful. The Niners kicked field goals of 28, 20, and 26 yards in the first half. Cowardly stuff.

It worsened when Mason fumbled with 6:11 to play in the game, giving Arizona the ball for their game-winning drive.

The Niners came into the game turning only 50 percent of their red-zone opportunities into touchdowns — a middling mark, at best. They went 1-for-6 on Sunday, with Purdy’s pop-pass to Kittle as the only score.

It cannot be as simple as missing Christian McCaffrey. One player, even a great one, cannot carry that much importance for a team, much less a team with lofty expectations.

“Everything is pretty tight, it’s close — we just gotta be aggressive,” Purdy said. “It starts with me… We gotta rip it.”