Davis’ big day powers Niners

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

Everybody on the San Francisco 49ers understood the plan perfectly: Get the ball to Vernon Davis.

He lined up as a wide receiver and in his natural spot at tight end. He made an acrobatic, over-the-shoulder catch on the sideline even coach Jim Harbaugh thought was nearly impossible, and Davis went straight over the middle for big gains, too.

Davis caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards and finished with a career-best 180 yards receiving, leading the 49ers past the Arizona Cardinals 32-20 on Sunday for their third straight victory.

“It’s just one of those days, when you’re in the zone,” Davis said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

If Davis keeps this up, perhaps San Francisco can stop worrying about the passing game until Michael Crabtree returns from injury as soon as next month.

Colin Kaepernick threw for 252 yards and Frank Gore rushed for 101 yards on 25 carries for his second 100-yard game of the season. Kendall Hunter ran for a 6-yard touchdown that sealed it for the 49ers (4-2) with 6:35 remaining.

Rookie safety Eric Reid made his team-leading third interception and also recovered a fumble to stop an Arizona drive deep in 49ers territory in the third quarter. San Francisco forced four turnovers for the second straight game.

“There’s a direct correlation to winning games in the National Football League when you get those turnovers,” safety Donte Whitner said.

A tough day for Arizona (3-3) became frightening when the Cardinals lost star defensive end Calais Campbell to an unspecified injury late.

For the 49ers, this balanced offensive performance was something they have searched for from Week 1.

“I’m going to give Vernon his chances when I can,” said Kaepernick, who got back on track after four straight games of fewer than 200 yards passing. “He makes a lot of great plays.”

Carson Palmer was 25 of 41 for 298 yards with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but inconsistent play plagued Arizona’s offense again.

Trailing 22-14 late in the second quarter, the Cardinals missed a big opportunity to take momentum into halftime.

Michael Floyd was flagged for offensive pass interference when he pushed Tarell Brown out of the way before making what would have been a 44-yard touchdown catch.

Floyd redeemed himself with a 10-yard TD reception midway through the third quarter when he got by Brown in the left corner of the end zone. But Arizona failed on a 2-point conversion try, leaving the 49ers up 22-20.