A dreadful game turned into a fantastic finish as the 49ers won their home opener in a 16-15 comeback thriller, with new kicker Eddy Piñeiro the last-second hero after the Niners nearly lost this game in the stupidest way possible.

Both the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals came into their Sunday contest at Levi’s Stadium undefeated, so we figured we would get one heck of a game here. But, instead, we got three quarters of absolutely awful football from both teams, with the 49ers wearing those mid-1990s throwback uniforms that everyone seemed to hate at the time.

The fourth quarter then turned into a rollicking unexpected rollercoaster shootout, with the 49ers winning 16-15 on a last-second field goal. This was not a well-played game by any stretch, but the 49ers are now 3-0, and they’ve done this largely without top-shelf stars Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings.

Oh, and now standout defensive end Nick Bosa is hurt too. The body language of that “thumbs down” gesture is not particularly encouraging, though Bosa will have an MRI today to determine how badly he’s hurt. (Update: Bosa has torn his ACL, according to ESPN, and sigh, he will now miss the rest of the 2025 season.)

The first three quarters of this game were just a battle of field goals, an affair so boring that even the Gronk commercials where he’s trying to get USAA insurance were more entertaining than the game. How bad was it? The 49ers had minus-one yards rushing up until the two-minute warning before halftime. They had no first downs until the middle of the second quarter. Their greatest first-half highlight may have been that they won the coin toss (they deferred).

But new replacement kicker Eddy Piñeiro was hitting his field goals (which would prove significant), and the 49ers led 6-3 at halftime.

Even the Fox Sports announcers were terrible. Here’s analyst Mark Sanchez of “Butt Fumble” fame praising “Fred Davis, downhill, stuffing runs” on a critical third down stop. He is referring to 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. But hey, it could have been worse, we could have had Tom Brady in the booth!

Let’s just ignore everything that happened in this abomination of a game until the fourth quarter, when shit suddenly got exciting. The 49ers faced fourth-and-2 early in the fourth quarter, and journeyman backup quarterback Mac Jones found his favorite target Ricky Pearsall for a 34-yard gain that electrified Niner Nation for the first time all day.  Two plays later, Kyle Juszczyk caught a one-yard touchdown pass for the first non-field goal highlight of the game, giving the 49ers a 13-6 lead.

That lead lasted all of two minutes and 13 seconds, as Kyler Murray and the Cardinals marched right down the field to tie the game 13-13 in the middle of the fourth quarter.

And with barely three minutes left, the 49ers nearly lost this game in the strangest and stupidest way possible. A holding penalty in the end zone, which gave the Cardinals a two-point safety! Cardinals led 15-13, and would get the ball back, with the clock ticking.

But the Cardinals did nothing with the ball, had to punt it back to the Niners. The Legend of Eddy “the Miracle Worker” Piñeiro was born, as he hit the winning field goal as time expired and bedlam broke out on the field.

The 49ers now find themselves in gaudy company as one of only six remaining undefeated NFL teams: the Niners, the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills (of course), the LA Chargers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (!), and the Indianapolis Colts (???).

And look at these NFC West standings. Despite being decimated with injuries to top stars, the 49ers are undefeated at 3-0 and have two divisional wins. That’s likely to come in very handy as the season goes on, as this division is not shaping up to be very good. (Did you see that Rams meltdown against the Eagles? That was hilarious!) If Purdy, Bosa, or other superstars miss extended time, these Niners seem to find ways to win games late with gentlemen they’d probably rather be keeping on the bench.

The “favorable schedule” fun continues next week for the 49ers, as they welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars this coming Sunday at Levi’s Stadium for a 1:05 pm kickoff.

Related: Short-Handed 49ers Manage Ugly 26-21 Win Over Saints in New Orleans, as Defense Bails Them Out Again [SFist]

Image: SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Adrian Martinez #18 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after field goal against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)