SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy returned to the lineup and the San Francisco 49ers scored their most points in nearly two years.

While Purdy looked sharp in the 41-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the reasons behind the big scoring output have to do with a lot more than just the change at quarterback.

Thanks to three takeaways by an opportunistic defense and a game-opening 98-yard kickoff return to the 1 by Skyy Moore, the 49ers (7-4) finished the game with the second best average starting field position by any team in the last three seasons.

The Niners started their average possession fewer than 3 yards from midfield and scored four of their five TDs on drives of 1, 14, 45 and 52 yards.

Purdy did well to take advantage of those fortuitous situations. He completed 19

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