Arizona Cardinals/San Francisco 49ers Top Five Defensive Plays

Sunday has come and gone. And during that Sunday, for approximately forty five of the sixty scheduled minutes the San Francisco 49ers controlled the ball. The Arizona Cardinals defense started strong, but after two quarters, they were run ragged. The 49ers run game pounded away at the front seven and Alex Smith and his group of receivers kept the ball safe. When it was all said and done, the Cardinals lost, 23 - 7. 

However, even in the midst of all the bad, there were five defensive plays that stood out. Hit the jump to see what they are.

• Calais Campbell FG block: What can I say. Lock the man up now. Again with the blocked FG. This kept the Cards competitive, though no one knew the Cards offense was going to be so stagnant. 
• Patrick Peterson FG block: Another blocked field goal. This time by Patrick Peterson. Once again keeping the Cards in the game. The rookie continues to make the plays when needed.
• Daryl Washington INT in the end zone: This kept points off the board. A nice midair hands grab and dance out of bounds in the end zone. This guy is quickly making Karlos Dansby a forgotten name. 
• Daryl Washington hit on Alex Smith: I hated the official call on this. "His intent was a forward pass" If we play by those rules, our intent is to score every play, just drop 7 on the board for me. He hit Alex Smith from behind and bent the man in half. The ball went backwards. Fumble or reverse pass, I don't care what Smith's intent was. 
• Stewart Bradley special teams tackles: I know, this is a stretch, but...He lit Ted Ginn Jr. up on both hits. He also had a sack on Alex Smith that was negated due to an Arizona Cardinals penalty. What I really like about this is that Bradley is getting onto the field and playing with ferocity. Of course special teams isn't why he was signed here, but it's a start.