The San Francisco 49ers took an early 6-0 lead in the second quarter over the Arizona Cardinals after a big punt return from Ted Ginn Jr. Arizona took over at the 20-yard line and Skelton actually finds Larry Fitzgerald for a first down, but they quickly faced a third down after that, when Beanie Wells rushed for a couple and a dumpoff went nowhere. On the next play, Skelton has a nice scramble for the first down, but he's cracked by rookie linebacker Aldon Smith and coughs up a fumble. Ray McDonald recovers the fumble and the 49ers took over.
Alex Smith dumps off to Kendall Hunter, who picks up a quick first down, but is sacked again and faced a long second down. He hit Kyle Williams on a quick slant, and he picks up 12 yards, setting up a 3rd and eight. Crabtree came through on that play, converting the downs. Eventually, the 49ers set up with ANOTHER third and long, and this time, it was Kyle Williams again, picking up eight yards and putting the 49ers in range of a 50-yard field goal. David Akers comes out to attempt, and it's a fake - Andy Lee rolls out and hits center Jonathan Goodwin for a big gain, but it looks like Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt threw the challenge flag on the Williams catch, so it's negated.
Then the replay equipment malfunctions, so there is no challenge, and the 49ers replay fourth down. Akers misses the field goal this time though, and the 49ers lead by 6-0 instead of 9-0. Naturally, Skelton comes out and hits Early Doucet for a 60-yard touchdown, putting Arizona up 7-0 after the extra point on the first play of their drive. So that just happened. The Cardinals kick off and Ginn returns the ball just beyond the 20-yard line.
After all of that jive, the 49ers take over again. Alex Smith throws a screen to Delanie Walker that loses six yards. On the play, the 49ers receiver at the bottom of the screen just stood there, didn't move, didn't fake a route and just turned and watched. Gore picked up a couple yards on the next play, but the 49ers faced yet another 3rd and long. Williams came through again though, catching a 14 yard pass for a first down, and San Francisco is back in business. Then, it's Vernon Davis catching a short pass and turning it into 32 yards, getting into the red zone. An end-around to Kyle Williams picks up good yards, but the 49ers tall out in the red zone once again, and Akers comes out to attempt a field goal. The 27-yard attempt is good and the 49ers take a 9-7 lead. The referees pick up the flag on that play and announce that there is no foul for leverage. Oh, OK. Thanks for letting us know.
The Cardinals come back out and, short story shorter, Dashon Goldson picked off his fifth pass in seven games. So the 49ers took over with just over a minute remaining in the half. After a couple short plays, the 49ers are really close, but with 4 seconds left on third down, they elect to kick a 22 yard field goal. Akers drills it, and the 49ers lead 12-7 at the half, though they'll wish it was more with their opportunities in the red zone.