The 49ers defense held wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to only 22 yards receiving on the day. Anquan Boldin had only 40 yards through the air. Cornerback Tarell Brown was proud of how the defense played against a top tier passing attack.

“We give ourselves a lot of credit.  We worked real hard in practice, and we pay a lot of attention to details,” Brown said after the game. “Every day, we’re focusing a lot harder, and you can see it in all the guys.  We just want to go out there and show the world that we’re one of the top defenses in the league.”

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This was the 49ers’ defensive players’ opportunity to scream to the heavens that, yes, they are the determining factor in this team’s success, and yet they passed. No boasting, no chest-thumping, no “We always we knew we could make the Arizona Cardinals leave the ball on the ground seven times.”

There was a hint of “Monday Night Football” Syndrome, though, as best presented by nickel back Tarell Brown.

“We’re the only ones playing, the whole league is watching us, and it was good for us to show them what we could do,” he said after he and his mates put a breathtaking beatdown upon the Cardinals in San Francisco’s 24-9 victory Monday night. “We wanted to show we were good, that we could make a difference, and we did that.”