Arizona Cardinals 33 San Francisco 49ers 21

As the San Francisco crowd chanted for Colin Kaepernick, Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald moved his name higher in the record books and tailback David Johnson amassed the highest rushing total in a game for any NFL running back so far this season.

The first quarter was certainly 15 minutes to forget, but Bruce Arians and his Cardinals used the rest of the game to take advantage of poor execution and ball security to assert dominance over their  NFC West rival 49ers.

While the Cardinals quarterback problems should end when starter Carson Palmer returns from the league’s concussion protocol, San Francisco’s are just beginning.

Colin Kaepernick, who has garnered himself far more attention with his pre-game activities than anything done on the field since his rookie campaign, may just get his shot to start once more after incumbent QB Blaine Gabbert completed only 18 of 31 for 162 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions – picks that directly led to 12 points for the Cardinals.

So far, Chip Kelly isn’t fairing any better on the west coast than he did on the east, but if he can coax the magic out of Kaepernick on the field, his brand of football could make the 49ers relevant again.

So far, the only thing they’re doing is bringing attention to off field matters that have no impact on the win-loss column. While shining the light on social injustice is commendable, at the end of the day Kelly’s job is to win games, a job he’s not doing so far.