Two overtime games, two wins. It's not ideal, the way the games got to overtime, because in both cases the offense couldn't score the kind of points that were expected against the competition — the 49ers gave up 41 to the Rams their last game before keeping the Cards out of the end zone all the way until the final play — but the Cardinals made it work in beating San Francisco, 18-15.

It was close. A 17-play field goal drive almost sapped all of the now-10-minute overtime period before the Cardinals could even get the ball. Thanks in large part because of the previous OT game at University of Phoenix Stadium — the 6-6 tie that ate up all 15 extra minutes last year — overtime was changed to 10 minutes. Bruce Arians, on the competition committee, was part of that, and don't think it didn't cross his mind as time ticked down.

"I was kicking my ass for bringing up this 10-minute overtime rule, but it worked out pretty good," he said.

Things are not perfect. At this rate, Carson Palmer will not last the season getting hit so much. He was hit 16 more times Sunday, bringing his season total to 43, with 17 sacks.

"I'm tired, but hopefully we have a walkthrough Wednesday and we don't have to practice," Palmer said.

There were some key penalties too, ones that prevented the defense from getting off the field in overtime, especially. But there was an offense that was clicking in the extra frame, there was a Smokey Brown sighting, a Jaron Brown career-high 105 yards, and there was Fitz. And there was a win.

-- There is no official update on linebacker Markus Golden and his knee injury, but it's never a good sign to see a guy writhing around on the ground after it happens and then later getting up to walk off. That usually means the writhing was less about pain than anger about something bad, and multiple reports say it could be torn ligaments. We will see what happens. Carson Palmer talked about Kareem Martin getting his chance, and if Golden is down, Haason Reddick can play some rush linebacker too. But losing Golden, sackless but the team's 2016 leader, would be a rough one.

-- I was thinking John Brown's two-toes-down OT catch in the end zone was going to be overturned.

-- From my view, it sure seemed like the 49ers got very conservative in OT. I get it -- the Cardinals had done little on offense, and you figure a field goal might be too much to overcome -- but I thought the Niners should've gone for the kill. It end up biting them, especially when they were playing that prevent defense, for whatever reason.

-- Andre Ellington did have a couple of drops, but he too had a TD-that-wasn't that left Cardinals scratching their heads on the call, and he was huge in overtime. His catches on the first two plays, dump-and-runs gained 11 yards each and jump-started the offense.

-- The Cards got good receiving production from both Ellington and Chris Johnson. Now they just need to get production in the running game.

-- Fitzgerald ended the game with a game-winning touchdown. He began the game with a blocking assignment on rookie defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, and it didn't go well. Thomas belted Palmer on an incompletion.

"The first play, I felt so bad," Fitzgerald said. "I had to block a defensive end and got him hit. I told him as soon as (I could), 'Carson, I'm so sorry man. I'm sorry, man.' "

Understandable. That's not why Fitz is out there. Asked why he was blocking Thomas, Fitz just said, "I don't ask those questions."

-- Fitzgerald becomes the only player in NFL history with an overtime touchdown catch in both the regular season and the postseason.

-- I want to go back at look at the video. I didn't notice right tackle Jared Veldheer in a bad way as I had the previous two games. With the pressure Palmer was under, it doesn't mean he was perfect. But I want to see him against the others across the line.

-- Kicker Phil Dawson goes 4-for-4 on field goals. The Cards win. But he said it doesn't make up for missing three field goals in the first three games. "There's no getting those back," Dawson said.

-- Patrick Peterson had a big smile, telling me he was 8-0 in overtime, dropping last year's tie with Seattle. Close, Patrick, but not quite. You're forgetting the 2012 overtime loss to Buffalo, the game when Jay Feely booted a 61-yard field goal to tie it. Peterson is now 8-1-1 in 10 OT games since arriving with the Cards.

And the Cardinals are 2-0 this season, which keeps them breathing in the NFC West.