The San Francisco 49ers were able to don the hats and t-shirts and celebrate a second successive NFC West title on Sunday with a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals.

San Francisco was far from perfect in Week 15, but another devastatingly efficient performance on offense was enough to put away a spirited Cardinals team.

With their latest win, the 49ers remained in control of the race for the number one seed in the NFC ahead of their Christmas Day game with the AFC’s top seed, the Baltimore Ravens.

Before the game, we identified five players to watch against the Cardinals. Let’s look back at how they fared.

QB Brock Purdy: A

Purdy’s homecoming looked like it might take a nightmarish turn when he went down injured in the second quarter. San Francisco, though, avoided a worst-case scenario as Purdy only missed three plays with a stinger and immediately converted a third down on a 19-yard pass to George Kittle and then hit Christian McCaffrey for a five-yard score that put the 49ers up 21-13.

The MVP frontrunner once again thrived making plays out of structure, escaping pressure up the middle to find McCaffrey for a 41-yard touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter, and demonstrated his downfield accuracy on a pinpoint back-shoulder throw to Deebo Samuel that marked his fourth touchdown pass of an outstanding display in his home state.

Yes, a lot of receivers are schemed open for Purdy, putting him in favorable situations, but the 49ers quarterback continues to do an outstanding job of elevating an attack that has the highest floor and the highest ceiling in the NFL. That is why he will likely be the MVP.

TE George Kittle: B

Kittle, like most of the 49ers’ skill-position players, took a backseat to Christian McCaffrey in his latest showcase that boosted his standing in the MVP conversation.

But the star tight end still managed to have a tangible impact on two scoring drives for San Francisco.

He hauled in a juggling catch from Purdy to set up McCaffrey’s first touchdown reception and Kittle’s second reception, a 35-yard catch and run on which San Francisco’s quarterback beat the blitz on third and long, was immediately followed by the out-of-structure deep shot to McCaffrey.

Kittle was typically impactful as a run blocker, regularly opening holes for McCaffrey, who went for 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground. It wasn’t a spectacular Kittle performance, but his fingerprints were present on another huge day for this relentless offense.

DTs Javon Kinlaw and Kevin Givens: C

It was not a good day for the San Francisco interior defensive line as, minus starting defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, the 49ers allowed the Cardinals to rush for 234 yards.

Kinlaw and Givens each struggled to adequately fill the void left by Armstead and Hargrave in terms of stopping the run, though the former continued his recent run of success as a pass rusher, registering another sack to take his tally to 3.5 over the last three games.

LB Dre Greenlaw: C

Greenlaw shook off ankle and hip injuries to play despite limited time on the practice field in the week, and he helped the 49ers achieve one of their primary goals in keeping Kyler Murray in check as a rusher.

Murray did have 49 yards on six carries, but his running ability was not the equalizer it often threatens to be, with a less prestigious cast of running backs doing most of the damage on the ground.

Greenlaw did display vulnerability as a coverage defender, however. He was rightly flagged for pass interference while in coverage on tight end Trey McBride, and he finished the game having given up seven catches on seven targets for 86 yards.

CB Ambry Thomas: B

Thomas was only targeted three times as Murray instead focused on attempting to get the ball to his tight ends rather than his wide receivers.

Maintaining his role in which he starts outside on nickel downs, Thomas gave up a reception on each of those targets but only allowed 20 yards.

Had Charvarius Ward missed out, Thomas’ performance would have been under a more intense spotlight as he would have been asked to play every down. 

Instead, Thomas and the rest of the San Francisco secondary were overshadowed by Ward as he intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown despite missing the entire week of practice with a groin issue.

49ers’ Fred Warner keeps it real about glaring issue for NFC West champions

They must get it fixed.