Concussion symptoms sideline Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb
Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb suffered concussion symptoms after taking a knee to the head on the third play of the game against the 49ers, and his status for Sunday’s game against Cleveland is unknown.
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Kolb didn’t return.
He was sacked on the play and then inadvertently kneed in the head by 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Kolb went to the locker room and returned to the sideline for a time.
“He didn’t feel great, exhibited some symptoms,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Our doctors right now, if it’s even close, they are going to err on the side of caution. We didn’t feel like it was a smart thing to do, so we stayed with John (Skelton).”
Under NFL policy, a player who leaves the game with concussion symptoms is not allowed to return.
Kolb won’t be able to practice until he undergoes neurological exams and is cleared by a team physician as well as an independent neurologist. He also must remain free of symptoms.
Kolb suffered a concussion in the Eagles’ first game last season and missed the following week.
Harbaugh defends calls
Despite needing only one yard to pick up a first down at their own 41-yard line late in the game, the 49ers twice elected to throw the ball. Both times, Alex Smith threw incomplete to kill any chance of moving San Francisco into field goal range for a shot at a possible win.
49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh defended the decision to pass on consecutive downs after the game, San Francisco’s first loss to Arizona in six games.
“I don’t want to get into the ‘You should have run it when you threw it, why didn’t you throw it when you ran it,’ ” Harbaugh said. “We tried to pick up the first down. We were in two-minute mode and we’re trying to move the ball to get into field goal range.”
Smith scrambled for 13 seconds on the final play, but the Cardinals had great coverage down the field and underneath.
“I just didn’t like what I saw as far as getting the ball out right away,” Smith said. “I was going to try to make something happen running around. It was the same defense they played the fourth down earlier when we did convert. I thought I could do something instead of running around. We missed it.”
Fitz can hit, too
Although his biggest contribution was making seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown, along with a 52-yard reception to set up the go-ahead score, Larry Fitzgerald delivered in another big way on Sunday.
It was his smash-mouth block against 49ers defensive back Tarell Brown that gave teammate Early Doucett open room to finish his 60-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the second quarter.
Fitzgerald absolutely laid out Brown, who never saw the hit coming.
“I enjoy winning,” Fitzgerald said. “You see all the flags and guys getting hit with fines for helmet-to-helmet (hits). He (Brown) didn’t see me so it was kind of a blindside shot. I was just holding my breath hoping I wasn’t going to get a penalty because that would have been the worst thing.”
Defense applies heat
The 49ers scored just one touchdown Sunday, converted on three of 17 third-down opportunities and finished with 233 total yards. For the second consecutive week, the Cardinals had five sacks, each by a different player.
“They brought a lot of pressure, especially on third down,” Smith said. “We knew they were going to be aggressive with us. That’s all on us. We all have to be better. We weren’t good enough today versus pressure at all.”