Christian McCaffrey ran for 75 yards and a touchdown and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-30 on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

The game put two of Stanford's biggest NFL names on opposite sidelines. McCaffrey, the former Stanford running back now in his fourth full season with the 49ers, added four catches for 41 yards for 116 total scrimmage yards. Across the field, Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson hauled in 11 of 17 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Wilson signed a three-year, $75 million extension with Arizona on Sept. 3, making him the highest-paid active Stanford player in the NFL. Through three weeks he has 18 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown, according to the Stanford Daily.

McCaffrey kept rolling. He scored his 100th career NFL touchdown in Week 2 in just 114 games, the fourth-fewest in league history, according to Stanford Athletics. After the Week 3 win, he talked up teammate Deebo Samuel Sr. in the postgame press conference.

"He's fast. He's Deebo … I think when he showed up he was, in my opinion, in the best shape of his life," McCaffrey said. "I see how hard he's working every single day … When he's on the field, he's just another guy that at any point can break one."

The 49ers improved to 3-0 and piled up 437 total yards. Arizona fell to 1-2 after committing 10 penalties for 86 yards, according to Yardbarker. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur pointed to those flags as the difference.

"Penalties. We couldn't overcome the penalties," LaFleur told reporters. "Our runs were hitting, but the penalties were knocking us back, and that absolutely killed us."

The Cardinals scored 24 of the game's final 30 points after trailing 23-6, cutting the deficit to three before San Francisco answered with a late touchdown.

Beyond the 49ers-Cardinals matchup, several Stanford alumni posted solid numbers in a week that featured 12 one-score games, tying an NFL record. Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper caught both his targets for 11 yards and a touchdown in a 35-14 win over Green Bay. Carolina Panthers wide receiver Brycen Tremayne grabbed four catches for 83 yards, including a career-long 31-yard reception, in a 21-18 loss at Cleveland. Panthers linebacker Bobby Okereke added four tackles in the same game.

Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz caught all three of his targets in a 19-17 loss to Indianapolis and ranks fourth among tight ends in receiving yards this season with 205. Twenty-six Stanford alumni hold NFL roster spots across 17 teams in 2026.