San Francisco wide receiver Arnaz Battle is upended by Cardinals linebacker Clark Haggans, left, in the fourth quarter of Arizona's win at Candlestick Park. The Cardinals outscored the 49ers 13-3 in the second half.

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SAN FRANCISCO — "I like opening with Arizona."

That was the pre-game assessment of San Francisco coach Mike Nolan before his 49ers hosted the Cardinals on Sunday the teams' first game of 2008.

If Nolan heads for the unemployment line during or after the season — and there's already widespread speculation about this in the Bay Area — he might end up re-assessing his view.

And as early as today, he could check out the standings and see who is in first place in the NFC West.

The Cardinals (1-0), making the minimum out of the maximum early, finally wore down the Niners and pulled away for a 23-13 win.

The Cardinals won by dominating the game on defense and special teams. Arizona came up with five turnovers.

Quarterback Kurt Warner, though more than a bystander, managed more than controlled the game.

He hit 19 of 30 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown. Just as important was the turnover stat line:

● 0 for Warner, 0 for the Cardinals.

The game showed a little of the tension between a team loaded with offensive weapons and the need to avoid turnovers.

"I don't want to turn the ball over; I don't want to take chances," said Warner, who lobbied at halftime for a more wide-open approach. "But I also feel sometimes I'm at my best when I'm making plays.

"It can get frustrating because we know we're so good at throwing the football. When we don't do that, we're not able to get into a rhythm. It's a little frustrating for me.

"At same time, if we're able to run the ball and control the clock, you'll take that side of it any day of the week.

"Today, we needed to control the clock. There will be times we'll have to spread 'em out and throw it. It's great to be able to do both."

The Cardinals used a cautious offense early and had trouble sustaining drives. But they opened up in the second half, trusting Warner not to make mistakes.

He rewarded them by leading a 15-play, 65-yard scoring drive that resulted in a Neil Rackers' 31-yard field goal.

Then came the game's biggest play: Rackers' short "pooch" kickoff was mishandled by the Niners' Takeo Spikes and recovered by the Cardinals' Matt Ware.

The Cardinals then drove eight plays for 33 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower that made it 20-10.

At about this point in the Cardinals' season opener here last year, the Cardinals — frantically trying to hang onto a lead — went three-and-out.

"That's all I could think about," said coach Ken Whisenhunt.

But this time, they wrapped it up with a most impressive 18-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a Rackers' 30-yard field goal with 2:00 left to finish the scoring.

Linebacker/defensive end Travis LaBoy wrapped it up by forcing and recovering a fumble.

"Maybe we're a late-awakening team," Whisenhunt said of his team's second-half surge. "Maybe the second half is indicative of what we'll be."