GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan sat down for his weekly news conference and then proceeded to name 13 players over the next 31 seconds who were either out or limited for Wednesday's practice because of injuries.
A long, frustrating season for the 49ers and Arizona Cardinals is coming to a close.
The 49ers (6-10) visit the Cardinals (7-9) on Sunday with both teams eliminated from the playoffs. There have been some similarities in the teams' struggles — both had midseason hope before injuries and inconsistent play derailed their postseason plans in December.
San Francisco has lost six of its past seven while Arizona has dropped five of six.
The finale does offer some young players on both sides a chance to make a good impression. For Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, it's also a chance to enter the offseason with a little momentum.
“It’s big to feel good about your last performance,” Murray 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.”
Both teams showed last week that they'll play hard, even when the playoffs are off the table.
The Cardinals were driving for the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute before the Rams picked off a deflected pass by Murray to secure a 13-9 win. The 49ers led for much of their game against the Detroit Lions — one of the NFL's best teams — before falling 40-34.
“I think when we play our brand of ball, I think we can compete with anybody," Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said after the Rams loss. “But again, that doesn’t count. It’s about winning and losing, you know what I mean?”
Dobbs’ debut
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs will make his first start for San Francisco in place of Brock Purdy (elbow). Shanahan opted to go with Dobbs ahead of Brandon Allen because of his better mobility behind a makeshift offensive line.
Dobbs started eight games for Arizona last season before being traded to Minnesota. He has a 77.5 career passer rating with 15 TD passes, 13 interceptions and 5.8 yards per attempt in 14 starts.
Gannon is familiar with Dobbs from their time together last season, but said that won't help much on Sunday.
“He’s got different people around him, different play callers,” Gannon said. "We’ll be ready to go. It’ll be good to see Dobbsy.”
Carter's opportunity
Cardinals running back Michael Carter is trying to revive his career with a bigger workload over the final few weeks of the season.
The 25-year-old Carter figures to have a larger role in the finale since starter James Conner (knee) is on injured reserve. Carter ran for 70 yards on 13 carries in last week's loss to the Rams.
Carter was a fourth-round draft pick by the Jets in 2021 and rushed for 639 yards as a rookie and 402 in his second season. But he slowly lost playing time and was released midway through 2023 before being scooped up the next day by the Cardinals.
“They’ll all have their roles defined as we get going through the week, but (Carter) will get a bunch of carries, I’m sure," Gannon said.
Record chance
Arizona's Trey McBride became just the 10th tight end in league history to top 100 receptions for a season during his 12-catch day against the Rams.
McBride sits at 104 catches heading into the finale, which is 12 catches shy of the NFL tight end record of 116, set by Zach Ertz with the Eagles in 2018. McBride has caught 12 passes in three games this season.
Rookie shines
Niners receiver Ricky Pearsall is looking to end a trying rookie season on a high note. Pearsall missed most of training camp with injuries and then was out for the first half of the season after being shot about a week before the opener.
Pearsall hadn’t produced much since his return before catching eight passes for 141 yards and a TD last week for the most productive game for a Niners rookie receiver since Jerry Rice in 1985.
“It felt good, but that’s what I’m supposed to do,” Pearsall said. “That’s what they brought me here to do, so I’m going to continue to do that.”
___
AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California, contributed to this report.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
David Brandt, The Associated Press
