Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers: 2012 Week 17 Recap

Game story

In Week 17 of the 2012 NFL season on 2012-12-30, the San Francisco 49ers took care of business against the Arizona Cardinals, pulling away with a 27–13 final that built a comfortable lead.

The highest-scoring period was Q4 with 17 combined points — the stretch that most shaped the final margin.

B. Hoyer (Arizona Cardinals) paced the passing game, with -6.46 total EPA, and -3.9% completion percentage over expected.

On the individual side, M. Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) delivered the top overall EPA impact at +17.54 — the clearest player-of-the-game signal on the analytics sheet.

The momentum swing (+15.9% win probability) landed in the second quarter when San Francisco 49ers changed the game: (7:28) 7-C.Kaepernick pass deep left to 15-M.Crabtree for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 19. 19-yds YAC

Line score

Final score and points by quarter.

Stars of the game

Top performers by total expected points added (EPA) across passing, rushing, and receiving.

1. 1 M. Crabtree · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +17.54 total EPA · 13 snaps · +1.35 EPA/play
2. 2 C. Kaepernick · San Francisco 49ers · Passing · +16.53 total EPA · 31 snaps · +0.53 EPA/play
3. 3 M. Floyd · Arizona Cardinals · Receiving · +7.02 total EPA · 14 snaps · +0.50 EPA/play
4. 4 D. Walker · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +2.84 total EPA · 4 snaps · +0.71 EPA/play
5. 5 J. Dray · Arizona Cardinals · Receiving · +1.20 total EPA · 1 snaps · +1.20 EPA/play
6. 6 L. James · San Francisco 49ers · Rushing · +0.65 total EPA · 7 snaps · +0.09 EPA/play
7. 7 S. Kelemete · Arizona Cardinals · Receiving · +0.61 total EPA · 1 snaps · +0.61 EPA/play
8. 8 R. Moss · San Francisco 49ers · Receiving · +0.34 total EPA · 4 snaps · +0.08 EPA/play

Player of the game

FantasyHQ analytics player-of-the-game pick based on total EPA and signature plays.

Who scored touchdowns and field goals

Every touchdown and field goal with the player named in official play-by-play.

Touchdowns

• San Francisco 49ers — M. Crabtree (C. Kaepernick pass) (Q2 37:28)
• San Francisco 49ers — M. Crabtree (C. Kaepernick pass) (Q3 21:02)
• San Francisco 49ers — F. Gore (Q4 13:02)
• Arizona Cardinals — M. Floyd (B. Hoyer pass) (Q4 2:06)

Field goals

• Arizona Cardinals — J. Feely (Q1 50:37)
• Arizona Cardinals — J. Feely (Q2 43:47)
• San Francisco 49ers — D. Akers (Q3 26:10)
• San Francisco 49ers — D. Akers (Q4 9:10)

How it unfolded, quarter by quarter

A quarter-by-quarter recap built from live scoring plays and play descriptions.

The opening quarter: Arizona Cardinals won the period 3–0. Arizona Cardinals connected on a field goal from the SF 16 (Q1 50:37) — (5:37) 3-J.Feely 35 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil..

The second quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 7–3. Arizona Cardinals connected on a field goal from the SF 13 (Q2 43:47) — (13:47) 3-J.Feely 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil.; San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the ARI 49 (Q2 37:28) — (7:28) 7-C.Kaepernick pass deep left to 15-M.Crabtree for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 19. 19-yds YAC; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the ARI 2 (Q2 37:20) — 2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee..

The third quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 10–0. San Francisco 49ers connected on a field goal from the ARI 26 (Q3 26:10) — (11:10) 2-D.Akers 43 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.; San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the ARI 7 (Q3 21:02) — (6:02) 7-C.Kaepernick pass short left to 15-M.Crabtree for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 3. 3-ys YAC; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the ARI 2 (Q3 20:58) — 2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee..

The fourth quarter: San Francisco 49ers won the period 10–7. San Francisco 49ers found the end zone from the ARI 2 (Q4 13:02) — (13:02) 68-L.Davis reported in as eligible. 21-F.Gore right guard for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; San Francisco 49ers added 1 points from the ARI 2 (Q4 12:59) — 2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.; San Francisco 49ers connected on a field goal from the ARI 8 (Q4 9:10) — (9:10) 2-D.Akers 26 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.; Arizona Cardinals found the end zone from the SF 37 (Q4 2:06) — (2:06) (Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass deep right to 15-M.Floyd for 37 yards, TOUCHDOWN.; Arizona Cardinals added 1 points from the SF 2 (Q4 1:59) — 3-J.Feely extra point is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil..

Turning points

Plays that moved win probability the most — the swings that decided the game.

• San Francisco 49ers (Q2 37:28) — (7:28) 7-C.Kaepernick pass deep left to 15-M.Crabtree for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 19. 19-yds YAC [WPA +15.9% · EPA +4.32]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q2 39:09) — (9:09) 2-D.Akers 44 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Left, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee. [WPA -11.6% · EPA -3.05]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q2 30:29) — (:29) 2-D.Akers 40 yard field goal is No Good, Wide Left, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee. [WPA -10.7% · EPA -2.63]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q3 27:52) — (12:52) (Shotgun) 7-C.Kaepernick pass short right to 15-M.Crabtree to ARI 29 for 28 yards (39-J.Sanders). Caught at SF46. 25-yds YAC [WPA +9.9% · EPA +2.92]
• Arizona Cardinals (Q1 48:17) — (3:17) (Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass deep right to 15-M.Floyd to SF 47 for 34 yards (29-C.Culliver). Caught at ARI 49. 4-yd YAC [WPA +8.0% · EPA +2.54]

Impact plays

Highest expected-points added snaps that flipped field position and scoring chances.

• Arizona Cardinals (Q4 2:06) — (2:06) (Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass deep right to 15-M.Floyd for 37 yards, TOUCHDOWN. [WPA +0.0% · EPA +7.04]
• San Francisco 49ers (Q2 37:28) — (7:28) 7-C.Kaepernick pass deep left to 15-M.Crabtree for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 19. 19-yds YAC [WPA +15.9% · EPA +4.32]
• Arizona Cardinals (Q4 12:59) — (12:59) (Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass short right to 15-M.Floyd to ARI 25 for 5 yards (91-R.McDonald) [99-Ald.Smith]. FUMBLES (91-R.McDonald), RECOVERED by SF-31-D.Whitner at ARI 34. 31-D.Whitner to ARI 34 [WPA -0.9% · EPA -3.93]
• Arizona Cardinals (Q4 6:07) — (6:07) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass deep left intended for 11-L.Fitzgerald INTERCEPTED by 25-T.Brown at SF 43. 25-T.Brown ran ob at ARI 45 for 12 yards. PENALTY on SF-99-Ald.Smith, Unnecessary [WPA +0.0% · EPA -3.61]

Quarterback report card

B.Hoyer led all passers in efficiency for Arizona Cardinals, setting the tone in the passing game according to FantasyHQ analytics.

• B.Hoyer (Arizona Cardinals) · 39 dropbacks · 48.7% completion · -3.9% CPOE · -0.17 EPA/play · -6.46 total EPA
• C.Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers) · 31 dropbacks · 51.6% completion · +3.4% CPOE · +0.53 EPA/play · +16.53 total EPA

Team stats comparison

Side-by-side offensive and defensive efficiency from FantasyHQ analytics.

By the numbers

San Francisco 49ers held the efficiency edge in offensive EPA per play (+0.08 vs -0.09), even if the scoreboard told a different story.

• Arizona Cardinals: 12 drives, -6.10 total EPA, 3 scoring drives
• San Francisco 49ers: 12 drives, +6.96 total EPA, 5 scoring drives

Key takeaways

What to remember for fantasy research, film review, and follow-up box score digging.

• San Francisco 49ers leaves with the win and the better postgame narrative for Week-to-week momentum.
• M. Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) is the first name to pull up for highlight reels and prop-retrospective research.
• B. Hoyer (ARI) finished below expected efficiency — volume may have masked accuracy issues.
• C. Kaepernick (SF) beat expectation through the air — positive CPOE game for stack builds.

Every scoring play

Chronological scoring with field position and full play-by-play context.

1. Arizona Cardinals FG (+3) — Q1 50:37 · SF 16 · Score 3-0
   (5:37) 3-J.Feely 35 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil.
2. Arizona Cardinals FG (+3) — Q2 43:47 · SF 13 · Score 6-0
   (13:47) 3-J.Feely 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil.
3. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q2 37:28 · ARI 49 · Score 6-6
   (7:28) 7-C.Kaepernick pass deep left to 15-M.Crabtree for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 19. 19-yds YAC
4. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q2 37:20 · ARI 2 · Score 6-7
   2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.
5. San Francisco 49ers FG (+3) — Q3 26:10 · ARI 26 · Score 6-10
   (11:10) 2-D.Akers 43 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.
6. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q3 21:02 · ARI 7 · Score 6-16
   (6:02) 7-C.Kaepernick pass short left to 15-M.Crabtree for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at ARI 3. 3-ys YAC
7. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q3 20:58 · ARI 2 · Score 6-17
   2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.
8. San Francisco 49ers TD (+6) — Q4 13:02 · ARI 2 · Score 6-23
   (13:02) 68-L.Davis reported in as eligible. 21-F.Gore right guard for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
9. San Francisco 49ers XP (+1) — Q4 12:59 · ARI 2 · Score 6-24
   2-D.Akers extra point is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.
10. San Francisco 49ers FG (+3) — Q4 9:10 · ARI 8 · Score 6-27
    (9:10) 2-D.Akers 26 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-86-B.Jennings, Holder-4-A.Lee.
11. Arizona Cardinals TD (+6) — Q4 2:06 · SF 37 · Score 12-27
    (2:06) (Shotgun) 6-B.Hoyer pass deep right to 15-M.Floyd for 37 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
12. Arizona Cardinals XP (+1) — Q4 1:59 · SF 2 · Score 13-27
    3-J.Feely extra point is GOOD, Center-82-M.Leach, Holder-9-D.Zastudil.