NFL Week 12: San Francisco 49ers’ Westbrook steps up vs. Arizona Cardinals
Brian Westbrook (San Francisco 49ers’ running back) whose career seemed to have hit a dead end, returned to his glory days on November 29 in the 49ers win over the Cardinals. His efforts
kept the 49ers in legitimate contention for the National Football Conference (NFC) west race.
San Francisco's Frank Gore, who left with a right hip injury, was replaced by Westbrook who finished with 136 yards on 23 carries and his first touchdown in place of the injured Gore,
and the 49ers sent Arizona to its sixth straight loss 27-6 on November 29. Westbrook ran 23 times in his 19thcareer’s 100 yard game and first since Week 14 of the 2008 season for Philadelphia against the New York Giants. That game against the Giants
was the second of back-to-back 100 plus yards games for Westbrook. The first happened to also come against the same Arizona Cardinals he beat up on November 29.
The 49ers, who entered the 25th place in the NFL in rushing yards, scored a season high of 27 points and got their first road win of the season. The Carolina Panthers and Detroit
Lions are the only NFL teams that have not yet scored 27 points in a game.
San Francisco (4-7), beaten at home by Tampa Bay 21-0 in week 11 of this season, improved to 3-1 since Troy Smith became starting quarterback and pulled within a game of co-leaders St.
Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the anemic NFC West. Arizona Cardinals (3-8), the two time defending division champion, has not lost this many in a row since dropping eight straight in 2006.
San Francisco’s 27-6 victory over the Cardinals was the biggest rushing yardage differential between two teams since 1998 when the 49ers outgained the Lions by 259 yards (3rd biggest difference
all time). The 49ers rushed for 261 yards and allowed just 13 to the Arizona Cardinals this season.
Westbrook rushed for 69 yards and 6 first downs on 13 attempts when the Cardinals had eight or more defenders in the box on Monday (5.3 yards/rush; 2.2 rush/first down). He did much of
his damage against the Cardinals on November 29th when running between the tackles, included in his season high 136 rush yards were 99 up the middle (6.2 yards per rush). The Cardinals’ rushing defense was shredded by that strategy. The Arizona defense did
not provide much resistance, as San Francisco pushed around the home team at the line of scrimmage from the start. The Cardinals, who entered allowing 3.8 yards per run up the middle, yielded 6.5 in this contest.
Since the 8 game skid in 2006, the Cardinals have lost 6 straight games (their longest losing streak). They are now 1-8 since their foot ball game on November 29th in 1986. Arizona rushed
for just 13 yards which is the second fewest in a game in franchise history. The Cardinals are the first team this season with no rushing first downs in a game.
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