Aside from a 27-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, the Arizona Cardinals have played nothing but forgettable football since Week 2.
Arizona has lost seven of its last eight games, and Sunday's division matchup against the San Francisco 49ers wasn't just another defeat, it was an embarrassment.
The 49ers left Levi's Stadium with a 41-22 win despite getting outgained 488 yards to 281, and losing the time of possession battle 34:15 to 25:45.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 47 of 57 passes for 452 yards-more than double Brock Purdy's 200 yards passing-along with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and the 49ers were held to under 100 yards rushing, but yet Arizona was blown out on the scoreboard.
With many searching for an answer to why the scoreboard was so lopsided despite the Cardinals having one of the better offensive performances of the season this year, former Pro Bowl running LeSean McCoy offered up a controversial explanation.
"The Cardinals did everything they did to try to lose this game," McCoy said on the "Speakeasy" podcast. "They was point shaving, for real. I'm just being serious though.
"… This is what I will tell you - the Niners got the ball on their side of the [field] so many times from turnovers, did they not? Tell me if I'm tripping. It wasn't a stats type of game."
San Francisco scored 10 points off two Brissett interceptions - a 47-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, and a George Kittle 4-yard touchdown catch in the final two minutes of the third quarter.
The 49ers also recovered a Cardinals fumble at their own 8-yard line on a third-and-goal early in the fourth quarter.
San Francisco was just a 3.5-point favorite heading into Sunday's matchup, which isn't exactly the kind of point spread typically seen in possible point-shaving scenarios, which usually involve larger point spreads to better conceal any suspicion.
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