Rookie mistake? Kliff Kingsbury timeout leads to 49ers TD

Updated

The Arizona Cardinals were thoroughly outplayed in the first half of their Thursday night matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

But they had a chance to go into halftime trailing by a single score before a mistake from head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

The 49ers had driven the ball to the Cardinals’ 1-yard line to end the half, and head coach Kyle Shanahan decided to roll the dice with his offense instead of kicking a field goal on fourth-and-goal.

A Kliff Kingsbury timeout cost the Cardinals a fourth-down stop at the goal line. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
A Kliff Kingsbury timeout cost the Cardinals a fourth-down stop at the goal line. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Cardinals get the stop, but ...

The 49ers lined up with a jumbo package and handed the ball off to running back Jeff Wilson Jr. The Cardinals were ready for it as a pair of Arizona defenders met Wilson in the backfield to stuff him for a loss and limit San Francisco’s halftime lead to 14-7.

But wait. Whistles blew late. Despite having the right play call and personnel on the field, Kingsbury didn’t like what he saw and called a timeout before the snap.

49ers capitalize on second chance

The 49ers got another shot and took advantage with a touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to Emmanuel Sanders.

The 49ers took a 21-7 lead into halftime and ended up needing the touchdown in a 28-25 victory.

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