Cardinals linebacker fined by NFL for hit on Purdy vs. 49ers with 10 games banned.
The NFL did not fine Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck for the hit that caused a few moments of concern for the 49ers in Week 15.
Gardeck was penalized for unnecessary roughness against 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in the second quarter of Sunday’s game. But the NFL determined the infraction did not rise to the level of being assessed a fine, too.
Gardeck delivered an apparent glancing helmet-to-helmet hit on Purdy after he unloaded a short pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the 49ers’ 45-29 victory over the Cardinals.
Purdy remained on the ground with a shoulder stinger and was examined by the team’s medical staff. He returned to action after missing three plays.
“I just laid there for a sec, and sort of let it calm down,” Purdy said after the game. “And then I was able to get up and go to the tent, and then from there I got better. Literally, as time went on, it just started to go away. That was why I was able to go back in there mid-drive.”
In the immediate aftermath of the play, it was not clear what was wrong with Purdy. And he said he was not sure, either.
“I’ve never had [a stinger] before,” Purdy said. “So when I got hit, I probably could have popped up if someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up. This was my first time having it. Just based off of guys, my teammates, how they explain a stinger, that is definitely what I [was] feeling.”
Four plays after Purdy returned to the field, he threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey that gave the 49ers a 21-14 halftime lead.
Purdy finished the game with 16 completions on 25 pass attempts for 242 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
The NFL did not assess any fines from the 49ers-Cardinals game for on-field, safety-related infractions.
Tied with the Baltimore Ravens with an NFL-best 11-3 record, the 49ers find themselves as the No. 1 squad on most team rankings heading into Week 16.
However, San Francisco understands its top-seed status doesn’t guarantee anything and realizes that work must be put in every week.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk appeared on “The Jim Rome Show,” and explained how the 49ers must prove worthy of their rank game in and game out despite high expectations.
“It’s so easy to get labeled as the best team in this category, the best team in this,” Juszczyk told Rome (h/t 49ers Webzone). “You look at your ranking, and that’s all awesome, that’s good stuff, but it never guarantees anything. At the end of the day, you still got to play the game.
“And it doesn’t matter if we’re the best team in the league and we’re playing the worst team in the league. Yeah, we probably have a better chance, odds are in our favor, but at the end of the day, nothing’s 100 percent. So we still got to go out there and prove it each week.”
The 49ers will host the Ravens at Levi’s Stadium on Christmas evening, the perfect opportunity for San Francisco to solidify their position as the top team in the standings and power rankings.
When asked who’s better between the two teams, the former member of Baltimore’s backfield took the high road, hesitant to say San Francisco is outright.
“Ah, man, you’re setting me up for some bulletin board material here, I feel like,” Juszczyk told Rome (h/t 49ers Webzone). “But I will say that we’re extremely confident in what we have, and we do feel like we have a very complete team and we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with anybody on Sundays.”
Since beginning the 2023 NFL season 5-3, the 49ers have won six consecutive games.
The Ravens are 8-1 in their last nine games, arguably equally as hot of a team at this stage in the season.
The rematch of Super Bowl XLVII should be a great game, and the 49ers know what’s at stake with the playoffs looming.
While San Francisco boasts multiple MVP candidates and impressive marks in most statistical categories, Juszczyk knows success is earned.
