By Morris Phillips

Every trying football season has a loss like this. Of course, the hard-luck 49ers have had several, just not one with such a heavy contribution from the referees, who flagged the team 13 times, including a controversial call against Quinton Dial on Arizona’s game-winning drive.

Playing arguably the NFC’s best team, and a division rival that embarrassed them in September with a 40-point loss, the 49ers battled the NFC West-leading Cardinals on even terms for 3 ½ quarters only to lose late, 19-13. A roughing-the-passer penalty against Dial allowed the Cardinal’s game winning drive to continue as Carson Palmer rumbled into the end zone to break a 13-13 tie with 2:28 remaining.

On the pivotal play, Dial sacked Palmer, rapping both hands around the quarterback for an eight-yard sack. But the referees maintained that Dial had tackled Palmer using the crown of his helmet, giving Arizona a critical first down. Nine plays later, Palmer scrambled into the left corner of the end zone for the game-deciding score.

“He hit me right in my face with the crown of his helmet,” Palmer maintained when asked about the play afterwards.

Dial felt that Palmer ducked his head at the point of contact, inadvertently selling the call to the referees. Had the call not been made, the Cardinals would have faced 3^rd-and-18 at their 24-yard line with less than seven minutes remaining in a tie game. To that point, the 49ers’ defense had held the NFL’s highest rated offense to one touchdown and two, first-half field goals.

Blaine Gabbert-in his third start in place of the injured and benched Colin Kaepernick—kept the 49ers in it with his 25 of 36 passing for 318 yards. Gabbert led the 49ers on a 12-play drive just before halftime that closed the Arizona advantage to 6-3. Then after the Cardinals opened the second half with a nine-play drive that ended with David Johnson’s one-yard touchdown run, Gabbert kept the 49ers in it with a 77-yard drive and an 8-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald that made the score 13-10.

“I think Blaine has continuously gotten better as he’s been in here,” Coach Jim Tomsula said, far more responsive about his quarterback than he was willing to discuss the refereeing. “I thought he ran the offense well today.”

The 49ers outgained the Cardinals on the day with 368 yards in total offense, but couldn’t strike early and they saw their final drive of the day end when Anquan Boldin’s 18-yard catch left him two yards short of a first down at the Arizona 22-yard line. Gabbert had some success with his deep ball, hitting Torrey Smith on a 41-yard pass play that set up the game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter.

Overall, better than those Kaepernick days, but still not good enough.

“I believe there’s progress, but we’re in the business of winning games and we have to win games,” Tomsula admitted.

While the 49ers battled the referees as much as the Cardinals, Arizona overcame the loss of two running backs to stay atop the NFC West. Starter Chris Johnson and key reserve Andre Ellington were both lost during the game to injury, but Carson Palmer kept the Cardinals driving, often with the help of veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald finished with 10 catches for 66 yards, and added some perspective from Arizona’s viewpoint afterwards.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Fitzgerald admitted. “But I’ve been around enough to know that any way you can get a win is a good one.”

The Cardinals won in San Francisco/Santa Clara for the first time since 2008. The 49ers were officially eliminated from the division race with the loss, falling to 3-8.

The 49ers are on the road the next two weeks, first visiting Chicago, then Cleveland, before returning home to face the Cincinnati Bengals.