SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Smith threw touchdown passes after two of Arizona’s seven turnovers, Frank Gore ran for 167 yards and another score and the 49ers kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 24-9 victory over the Cardinals on Monday night.
With a relentless defensive attack, San Francisco forced the Cardinals into five first- half turnovers and kept Kurt Warner from finding a groove. Warner threw two interceptions in the opening half after going 130 passes without a pick.
Arizona (8-5) can still clinch the NFC West by winning two of its final three games.
“Getting a win against a team playing great ball that had a chance to clinch the division, we came out and dominated,” Gore said. “They let me get in the zone. Any back who gets in that zone, it’s hard to stop them.”
Smith, coming off a loss at Seattle last week in which he threw for a career-high 310 yards, connected on TD passes to Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree and finished 19-of-35 for 144 yards.
The 49ers had a franchise-record five forced fumbles, two by safety Dashon Goldson.
Warner followed the best four-game stretch of his NFL career with a dud — going 16-of-29 for 178 yards with two interceptions and being sacked four times. Warner had gone 130 passes without an interception before Goldson picked off a pass intended for Steve Breaston early in the second quarter.
