By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, December 29, 2013

GLENDALE, Ariz. – For Phil Dawson, Sunday’s game was just another example of the highs and lows NFL placekickers endure as part of their job description.

In the third quarter, the San Francisco kicker saw his streak of successful field goal attempts snapped at 27 when he pushed a 24-yard attempt wide left.

But down the stretch, the 15-year veteran dialed long distance for a pair of field goals – a 56-yarder and a 40-yard field goal with 29 seconds remaining that gave the 49ers a 23-20 victory at University of Phoenix Stadium before a sellout crowd of 63,570.

“I hit it pretty good,” Dawson said of his game-winner. “I didn’t wait around to see how much I cleared it by. Coach (Brad) Seely asked me leading up to that, before third down, how I felt. I said, ‘Well, I’ll at least get it there,’ and fortunately, that proved to be true.”

The 49ers (12-4), who clinched an NFC playoff berth last week, are seeded fifth and travel to Green Bay next Sunday for a Wild Card contest against the North Division champion Packers (9-7-1). Game time is 1:30 p.m.

“This is only for the tough. We’ve known that for a while now,” 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Our guys have been coming through in tough ball games. We know it will be more of the same coming.”

Forty-Niners corner back Carlos Rogers added, “With an MVP quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) throwing the ball to their guys – he’s back. They’ve got some other guys back and their running game has picked up. Now, you have to focus on (Eddie) Lacy back there when they’re running the ball. Then all of our linemen have to get after Aaron (Rodgers).”

After losing the Super Bowl a year ago, 49ers running back Anthony Dixon addressed the subject of unfinished business.

“It left a nasty taste in our mouth,” Dixon said. “That’s what we think about – getting back to that big game. We know we have to take it a game at a time, but our eyes are on the prize.”

The Cardinals’ effort to beat San Francisco to reach the playoffs became moot when New Orleans downed Tampa Bay 42-17. Arizona finished its season 10-6.

“It doesn’t feel good, but it doesn’t diminish what we were able to accomplish as a team,” Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “Coach (Bruce) Arians hit it on the head’ he said it’s just the beginning. … Obviously, we would love to be 11-5 and have an opportunity to get to the playoffs, but it didn’t work out that way for us.

“This is a great start for us, and something that we can truly build on.”

Dawson’s miss in the third quarter was his first since the 49ers’ Oct. 6 game against the St. Louis Rams.

“It was just poor execution on my part,” Dawson said. “You can’t take anything for granted. The two most hated words for me are ‘chip shots,’ and I had some opportunities to go back out there and contribute to the team.

“You live and learn on every kick whether you make them or miss them. I missed the earlier one, tried to look at what I did wrong and applied those to future kicks. I’m just glad it came down to the end where I could make one that helped our team win.”

Coming into the game, the Cardinals had the NFL’s best rushing defense, but 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made that a non-factor, along with veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Boldin, the former Cardinals wide receiver, came back to haunt his old club, snaring nine of Kaepernick’s passes for 149 yards and one touchdown. Kaepernick completed 21 of 34 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns without a pick.

“We liked the matchups we had with him,” Kaepernick said of Boldin. “We didn’t think their corners could match up with him very well.”

Boldin insisted there was no added incentive attached to facing his former team. “It’s another team; a division opponent,” Boldin said. “For me, there wasn’t any added motivation. I’m motivated by winning and that’s it.”

Neither team ran the ball particularly well, each finishing with 83 total rushing yards. Wide receiver Quinton Patton, whose 26-yard scamper on an end around set up Dawson’s first field goal, led all 49er runners with that play. Rashard Mendenhall gained 47 yards on 10 attempts to lead Arizona.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 407 yards, a pair of touchdowns and one interception, completing 28 of 49 passes. Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd each caught six passes – Fitzgerald for 113 yards and Floyd for 91.

San Francisco was on its way to making the game look like a rout in the opening quarter, jumping to a 17-0 lead. Dawson’ first field goal, a 27-yarder at 10:37 following three incomplete passes in the red zone.

Two minutes later, an interception by 49ers linebacker NaVarro Burton at the Arizona 25-yard-line set up San Francisco’s first touchdown, a 4-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin on a fade route putting the Niners up 10-0.

Arizona’s offense began to show signs of life when the Cardinals drove to the 49er 23. But the Cards came up empty when Jay Feely missed a 37-yard field goal attempt wide right.

San Francisco extended its lead to 17-0 on the next possession. A 63-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin moved the 49ers to the Arizona 3. Two plays later, Kaepernick found Vernon Davis open in the end zone for a 3-yard scoring pass.

The Cardinals broke through in the second quarter on a 1-yard scoring pass from Palmer to Jake Ballard with 4:46 left in the first half. The score was set up by a 49-yard pass reception by Fitzgerald that moved the ball to the San Francisco 23.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Cardinals fought back and tied the game at 17-17. With 3:20 remaining in the final period. Palmer found a diving Andre Roberts open toward the left sideline in the end zone for a 34-yard score. The replay assistant challenged the touchdown ruling, and the play was upheld.

On San Francisco’s ensuing possession, the drive stalled at the Cardinal 38, and Dawson hit a 56-yard field goal – his longest of the season – and the 49ers again led 20-17.

Arizona answered with a 43-yard field goal by Feely with :29 remaining, set up, in part, by a delay of game penalty against the Niners that moved the ball to the San Francisco 25.

Feely’s ensuing kickoff sent LaMichael James five yards deep into the end zone, but he returned the kick 45 yards to the San Francisco 40. Though James fumbled, the replay assistant ruled that he was down by contact and credited with a 41-yard return.

An 18-yard pass from Kaepernick to Boldin and a 29-yard toss to Patton moved the 49ers to the Cardinal 22, setting up Dawson’s game-winning boot.

“My natural instinct was to just go get the ball,” Patton said. “I was just out there running the route. You have to ask Kap (Colin Kaepernick) if I was the first read.”

Kaepernick didn’t answer directly, but said, “It was press coverage over there. We had a double move on, and there was no safety on that side of the field. I thought I’d give him a chance. He’s shown he can go up and make those plays in practice, so he came up with it, and it was huge for us.”

The 49ers turn their attention to Green Bay, which now has quarterback Aaron Rodgers back in the lineup, and the weather factor.

“The team understands all of those things,” Harbaugh said. “They have some control, but little control about who you play. … The thing we have the most control over is how we play. The effort we give, how we play the game – that will be the most important thing, as it always is.”

(TAGS: San Francisco,49ers,Arizona Cardinals,Phil Dawson,Colin Kaepernick,Anquan Boldin)