The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 36-30 on the road-or-home wire accounts summarized by Arizona’s team site and SI takeaways, moving San Francisco to 3-0. It was a high-event game that kept Arizona in striking distance before San Francisco closed. NFC West pace looks fast early: unbeaten San Francisco sets a high bar while Arizona searches for finishing answers. Explosive plays on both sides will dominate Monday clip shows. Coaching staffs will zoom in on third-and-long and red-zone trips that decided the six-point margin. Fantasy and betting settlements should use the NFL’s official gamebook. Narrative fights about whether Arizona “should have won” are secondary to the locked final. Cardinals.com and SI agree San Francisco won 36-30 and sits at 3-0. Takeaway lists disagree on Arizona’s primary failure — protection, explosives allowed, or late-clock execution. San Francisco beat Arizona 36-30 to stay unbeaten. Team and Sports Illustrated takeaways frame a high-scoring NFC West fight the 49ers finished.

Cardinals.com and SI agree San Francisco won 36-30 and sits at 3-0.

Arizona’s team site and Sports Illustrated both freeze the same Week 3 final — San Francisco 36, Arizona 30 — with the 49ers alone at 3-0 in the early NFC West race. What still splits takeaway lists is Arizona’s primary failure mode: protection breakdowns, explosives allowed downfield, or late-clock execution when the deficit was still manageable.

For San Francisco, the six-point margin extends an unbeaten start that raises the bar for every NFC West chase through October. Arizona’s staff faces a short week of film on the finishing drives that decided a high-event game the Cardinals stayed in until the close. Week 4 preparations will hinge on whether Arizona can convert the explosive plays it created before San Francisco slammed the door.