For as well as Brock Purdy has played for the 49ers this season, the Cardinals know they need to start with how they will defend running back Christian McCaffrey. He's a menace to the rest of the league and certainly the Cardinals.

One of the few times over the past three seasons the Cardinals came out ahead was when linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. blew McCaffrey up in a 6-6 game late in the third quarter in San Francisco last season, a fourth-and-goal play that was crucial at the time.

"I know he remembers it," Wilson said. "Everybody remembers it. I feel I'm ready for the task. There will be a little fire this game."

McCaffrey is a star. Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, who was a 49ers assistant when McCaffrey came into the NFL in 2017, said the 49ers considered taking McCaffrey at No. 2 overall in the draft (the Niners traded back to three to take QB Trey Lance; Carolina took CMC at No. 8.)

And it's another example of what the Cardinals hope Jeremiyah Love can become.

Not comparing Love to CMC. Not yet. But McCaffrey is one of those running backs that changes how a defense has to play, a guy who can crush both running the ball and catching. (Given this week, it was hard not to notice the Falcons' Bijan Robinson on a national stage Thursday night dominating too.)

"I want to go crazy every single game," Love said. "Last week I didn't. It's kind of hard. I come from a place where I'm going crazy every week. It's kind of humbling a little bit. I'm getting used to the situation I am in.

"It's been a challenge and I'm up for the challenge."

In two games, Love has 70 yards rushing and 25 total touches. He has played 43 percent of the offensive snaps.

Love would love to be his own version of McCaffrey. The two met when Love was at Notre Dame, and Love gushed about the encounter. "He was one of the best human beings I've come in contact with," Love said.

"I hope to make that same impact with my team," he added. "I want to go out there and do the same things he does.

"I want to be similar to Christian McCaffrey but also have my own touch to it."

-- Pass rusher Nick Bosa, the player that might've been a Cardinal in 2019 if the team had decided Josh Rosen was enough quarterback, is really good when he is on the field. He is rarely on the field though and once again he will miss a Cardinals game. He hurt his calf in practice this week and will be out for an extended period. Bosa was coming off a torn ACL that he suffered last season, Week 3 in a home game against the Cardinals. Here we are again.

-- The Cardinals need more from their pass rush, and hope that Josh Sweat can break out sooner rather than later. Sweat is still looking for his first sack of the season. It might be hard to do against the Niners, who have yet to surrender a sack this season with Purdy playing arguably the best football of his career.

-- They can't forget about McCaffrey, though. CMC did not play against the Cardinals in 2024 because of injuries. But in the four games against the Cardinals since 2023, McCaffrey has averaged 89 yards rushing, 68 yards receiving (on 27 total receptions) with 10 total touchdowns.

-- Trey McBride and George Kittle are the two best tight ends in the NFL (Brock Bowers needs to be healthy before he can climb back in the argument.) I am guessing both fanbases will give the No. 1 nod to their own guy, but there is one outside analyst who comes down for McBride.

"In my eyes, he's the best tight end in football right now," future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski recently said. "Most consistent, puts up touchdowns and yards every week."

McBride has 17 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns in two games. Kittle is at 6-92-1 for the 2-0 Niners. The duo are the two highest-paid tight ends (Kittle's new deal in 2025 slightly surpassed McBride's deal that was signed only a couple weeks prior.) The two are also friends, spending time at Tight End U and showing appreciation to each other every time they play.

How the two produce Sunday will impact the result.

-- LaFleur was asked about the first start/playing time of the season for right guard Isaiah Adams. He said it was a good first game, but also said it was a small sample size because Adams had only played a half.

Of course, Adams played the whole game. But LaFleur is still salty about the Cardinals only getting 50 offensive plays, and only 12 in the second half.

-- Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne has been back to Levi's Stadium once in his career as an opposing player, but he didn't play – he was on IR at the time with the Patriots. So Sunday will be the first time Bourne will play against the team for whom he was with for five seasons, including 2025.

"I'm excited, actually," he said with his trademark grin.

Bourne has been interrogated by defensive coordinator Nick Rallis but said there isn't much specific he'll be able to provide – although he did tell his new team how "antsy" coach Kyle Shanahan would get when trying to account for safety Budda Baker in gameplans.

-- It is Equipment Managers Appreciation Week, so I'm going to do some appreciating for a group I don't get to see as much as I used to. Everyone on the football side works ridiculous hours, but that equipment staff has it next level. For the love of the game, right? So raise a glass for Jeff Schwimmer, Pat "He Who Snaps" Coleman, Kirk Muranaka, Marcus Lukes (and his tattoo), Matt Seanor, Taylor Sutton and Jason Kenneally.

Here's a picture of Schwimmer and Coleman, and sorry I don't have photos of all of them, but I couldn't pass on this one.

-- The Cardinals did not have a passing play for more than nine yards against the Seahawks, the first time a Cardinals team had done that since the replacement players won a game in St. Louis in 1987. That can't happen again. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said in a perfect world, it takes three years to get the offense in a perfect place.

To this, LaFleur shook his head. "The reality is we don't have three years," the coach said. "I feel like we have three minutes."

The Cardinals are tied for second-best in the league averaging 5 yards to go on third downs. But their conversion rate is 36 percent, well behind the two teams up with them (49ers 63 percent, Cowboys 68). The run game needs to improve, but so do the pass explosives to open up some room.

Was Hackett surprised the Cardinals ended up with zero passes of at least 10 yards? "No," he said. "It felt that way the whole time. ... At some point, you want that to happen so we can all talk about how we can get out of that. Because it's going to happen in this league."

Wide receiver Michael Wilson was held to two receptions, and admitted the passing issues were hard for him to understand.

"That was probably one of the first times in my career where I have had a great week of prep, both collectively and individually, and had that be the result," Wilson said. "The weeks I had my best games last year, I also had my best weeks of practice."

Wilson added that as the Seahawks ran down the clock in the fourth quarter, "that was one of the least fun games I've ever played in my football career. It felt like a (expletive) game."

-- Mack Wilson said he talked to star 49ers linebacker Fred Warner at an offseason event (they are repped by the same agency) and that the All-Pro was "giving me little tips." Warner, as usual, is off to a great start after reuniting with once-and-now inside linebacker running mate Dre Greenlaw.

-- LaFleur has talked since training camp about working in the heat in part because of this week's game at Levi's Stadium. The sun beats down on the visiting sideline during afternoon games. The temperature is supposed to be in the mid-70s on Sunday, but the feel down on the field will be higher. LaFleur noted that he knows all about it in part because when he was coaching with the Niners, his wife sat on that side of the stadium. He believes the Cardinals are ready, though.

"Good thing we are in the desert," LaFleur said with a smile.

See you Sunday.