Jim Tomsula call may have cost 49ers shot at win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- One week after being criticized for punting deep in his own territory late in a game his team trailed by 16 points, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Tomsula got a pass Sunday and Monday after making arguably his first game-losing call of the season in the 19-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

After 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert was sacked on a third-and-10 play at the Arizona 30 with his club down by six and 1:27 remaining, the 49ers were facing a fourth-and-20 at the 40 with the clock ticking and everyone looking at the head coach for a direction.

The 49ers had all three timeouts remaining at the time.

Had they punted, pinned the Cardinals deep, and then used their timeouts on defense against an Arizona team that was missing its top two running backs, the 49ers arguably could have got the ball back close to midfield with still more than a minute to go.

Instead, Tomsula burned a timeout in order to give himself more time to make the decision, then basically had no choice but to go for it against nearly insurmountable odds.

As it turned out, Gabbert completed his fourth-longest pass of the day, an 18-yarder to wideout Anquan Boldin that came up 2 yards short.

Ballgame.

--One of the most fascinating stats to come out of Gabbert's two starts is that he's completed 16 passes on third down, yet only six of them have moved the sticks.

Tomsula has taken note.

Asked if he was OK with the "take what the defense gives you" approach in those situations, the coach made himself very clear.

"Absolutely not OK," he demanded. "I mean, we need to get first downs on third down. So we've got to do a better job there."

--Quarterback Colin Kaepernick met his teammates at the team's practice facility Monday.

49ers players were checking in with the medical staff after Sunday's 19-13 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Kaepernick was already working with the trainers, going through his first day of rehab following surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder last week.

The 49ers' most severely injured player in Sunday's game was tight end Garrett Celek, who suffered what was labeled a high ankle sprain.

The club scheduled an MRI on the potentially season-ending injury.

Gabbert passed for a career-best 318 yards in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He'd had only one previous 300-yard game in his career -- a 303-yard effort at Green Bay in 2012 for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

--Wide receiver Anquan Boldin (984 career receptions) moved past Randy Moss (984-982) on the NFL's list for career receptions with his seventh of eight catches in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Boldin now ranks 13th on the list. Interestingly, he lost ground Sunday to the guy one spot ahead of him, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who had 10 catches in the game to up his total to 992.

--Tight end Vance McDonald caught a career-best six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. McDonald has recorded touchdowns in his last two games, the first time he's gone back-to-back in his career.

--Tight end Garrett Celek suffered what was labeled a high ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. He was scheduled for an MRI and is unlikely to be ready for the club's next game at Chicago.

--Tight end Blake Bell stepped in for injured TE Garrett Celek and hauled in a season-best three balls for 67 yards in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Bell's 48-yard reception also was his longest of the season.

--Nose tackle Mike Purcell made his first career start and recorded his first career sack in the 49ers' loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals. Purcell was in on 49 of the club's 80 defensive snaps and made three tackles.

--Defensive end Arik Armstead was expected to start Sunday's game in place of injured Glenn Dorsey (knee surgery), but was "sore," according to coach Jim Tomsula, and was replaced by nose tackle Mike Purcell. Armstead did play 18 of the club's 80 defensive snaps.

--Outside linebacker Eli Harold was a surprise starter ahead of Corey Lemonier in place of injured Ahmad Brooks (concussion). Lemonier wound up playing more snaps (44) than Harold (41).

--Kicker Phil Dawson ran his streak of consecutive field goals made to 18 with a pair Sunday. The streak is the second-longest in franchise history, trailing only his own 27-straight streak during the 2013 season.