Cardinals focused on finishing season strong vs. 49ers​on January 5, 2025 at 12:57 pm

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon is a firm believer that confidence can carry over from the end of one season to the start of the offseason.

That’s what he hopes to see Sunday when the Cardinals host the San Francisco 49ers in the season finale (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox).

“I think that I’d like to win the game,” Gannon said. “That’s going to be your greatest confidence builder is winning games, but yeah, there’s no doubt you want to end the year playing good football.

“I know whether you’re in it or not, everybody’s trying to do that. Then it just gives you another opportunity on Sunday to see what’s good, what’s not and how we can execute better. It’s a learning experience, but there’s no doubt we want to play well for our fans, play well for us and win a game.”

To step into the offseason on the right foot, Gannon listed a few things Arizona (7-9) must do against the 49ers: Maximize its process, play a clean game and win.

Quarterback Kyler Murray said it’s important to end the season on the right note.

“For me and any player in general, going into [the] last game [before] offseason, it’s big to feel good about your last performance,” he said. “Personally, I would like to go into the offseason playing well and have that on your mind.

“That’s the last thing you remember. We want to go out there and play well. Obviously, the goal is to win the game, but I think to continue to pass the ball well is definitely key.”

Murray turned in one of his best passing performances of the season in the team’s 13-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17, with season highs of 321 passing yards, 33 completions on 48 attempts. He also had his third-lowest off-target percentage while getting hit 10 times, tied for the second most this season.

Part of what worked so well for Arizona’s passing game last week was its diversity. Murray completed a pass to 10 different targets, including 12 to tight end Trey McBride for 123 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s great for the offense,” Right tackle Kelvin Beachum said. “I think it opens up the offense a little bit and makes people have to respect everybody.”

Beachum looked at Murray’s decision-making as a key to success in Week 17, but replicating the passing game will be one challenge against the Niners, who rank fourth in passing yards allowed per game (189.8). And putting up points — which Arizona didn’t do much of against the Rams — is an entirely separate challenge.

“We moved the ball all game,” Murray said. “I don’t feel like there was really much that they could do with us. I don’t feel like they stopped us, necessarily.

“In a game of four quarters, it’s hard to score every time or get down there every time. I felt like we moved the ball well but, only having nine points at the end of the game, [we] didn’t do enough.”

All week, the Cardinals have stressed that their focus is on this game, not on the offseason or looking back. But repeating the performance in the passing game, while a hope for this week, isn’t necessarily a guarantee.

“To some extent, every week’s a little bit different based on matchup, how you want to do things,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. “Like the week before, I think we had just as many yards, very different structure based on the nature of the game, the opponent and how things played out.

“So, I don’t think it’s necessarily like, ‘Hey, we did it this week, it’s just going to carry over.’ I think it’s constantly working at the things that allowed us to have success.”