49ers vs. Cardinals: San Francisco extends NFC West lead with Monday night win

What was the positive to take from this? Here’s the SB Nation Cardinals blog Revenge of the Birds with some perspective on the struggling offensive line:

With the way the Cardinals’ offense struggled to move the ball, and Alex Smith having perhaps his most brilliant individual performance as a pro (just one incomplete pass on the night), it’s no wonder that 49ers fans are growing even more confident in their team’s control over the NFC West division.

But it’s four straight losses for the Cardinals and two straight for the Seahawks, whereas the 49ers have won two straight, both against Seattle and Arizona. Here’s some reaction from our 49ers blog Niners Nation:

On Monday night, Alex Smith went 18-for-19 with 232 yards and three touchdowns as the 49ers rolled through the Cardinals, 24-3. And really it wasn’t even that close. Despite those numbers, the talk after the game was still about Smith’s confidence. Or a lack thereof.

On Friday, Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter wrote that after Thursday’s game -- a win over the Seahawks -- that is was “obvious the 49ers coaching staff didn’t trust Smith to make a play ... It will say otherwise in the days and weeks to come, just as coach Jim Harbaugh did Thursday night.”

Monday Night Football wasn’t in Detroit Rock City this week, but they still managed to tap some special guests that were Dressed To Kill. The corporate synergy between ESPN and one of the greatest rock bands of all time was Hotter Than Hell on Monday night.

We’re sure that all the Creatures of the Night were ready to Lick It Up. Lick up the KISS appearance, I mean! I Sure Know Something, though: not-Ace Frehley and not-Peter Criss are way more into whatever the hell the band is doing here than Gene Simmons, who was too distracted to Shout It Out Loud. I’m also not sure what the Telestrator is doing on the right, here. I’m not sure whether I’ll ever know. Not even if I had 100,000 Years to figure it out.

Fantasy Impact: Michael Crabtree has been an unspectacular fantasy option this season, consistently collecting subpar yardage and struggling to find the end zone. Coming into the game, Crabtree had 364 yards and one touchdown.

The 49ers’ passing has been inconsistent this season, due to their reliance on the ground game. However, Crabtree gets plenty of targets.

The remaining inactives for the Week 8 game on Monday night are as follows:

San Francisco 49ers:

San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals

Stephens-Howling told SportsRadioInterviews.com: “I mean, I feel like we are more focused ... We just know it’s a division game and we know it’s an opportunity for us to get back on track.”

The Cardinals are averaging 89.3 yards per game, which ranks 27th in the league. The San Francisco defense is only giving up 98.9 yards per game on the ground which ranks 10th in the NFL.