TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals would prefer to have their bye later than the fourth week of the season, but the timing might work out for them.

They have a number of injured players, including quarterback Carson Palmer, who could use the time off to let his ailing right shoulder rest.

A year ago, coach Bruce Arians used the bye week to try to instill some toughness in his team. They had two physical practices that week and went 6-2 afterward.

This year, he’s backing off.

“The big thing right now is to get some young players some action for depth,” he said. “I would love to have them both days in pads, but we just can’t do it.”

Palmer hasn’t thrown a pass with authority since the first game of the season. The nerve problem in his right shoulder is improving, Arians said, and it’s hoped he will be able to throw sometime this week or early next week.

There is less of a rush for him to return than there was two weeks ago. Drew Stanton has played well in his two starts and showed steady improvement.

“Last week (against the Giants) I thought he was in the management mode: don’t lose it,” Arians said. “This one (against the 49ers) I thought he went to win. He took his shots down the field.”

The Cardinals are 3-0 for only the third time in the past 41 years (2012, 1974), and they beat the 49ers after a tumultuous week.

Backup running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested at the team facility on Wednesday on domestic abuse charges. On Friday, outside linebacker John Abraham was placed on injured reserve due to a severe concussion.

“They are just bumps in the road,” Arians said. “Everything is not going to come easy. The harder they get, the easier they are for us now. There are no excuses. Nobody wants to hear them.”

REPORT CARD VS. 49ERS

PASSING OFFENSE: A – Drew Stanton was more than efficient in his second start of the season. Two touchdown passes to John Brown gave the Cardinals the lead in the third quarter. Stanton has not had a pass intercepted, and he was rarely under pressure on Sunday.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B – The Cardinals had just 84 yards on 27 carries. But all but two runs by backs went for positive yardage and they were able to run for a first down at the end to put the game away.

PASS DEFENSE: B – It was a tale of two halves. In the first, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick worked underneath and guided two touchdown drives. In the second half, the secondary played tighter and the Cardinals generated at least some pass rush.

RUSH DEFENSE: A – The 49ers rushed for 82 yards on 24 carries and their biggest gain was 10. Part of that was because the Cardinals did a good job, and part of that was because the 49ers were missing their top two tight ends. They relied primarily on multiple receiver sets and didn’t try to run with any consistency in the second half.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A – Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro made all three field-goal attempts and he’s 9-for-9 for theseason. The Cardinals also blocked a field goal, and they did it with nine men on the field.

COACHING: A – Arians and his staff had this team ready to play against the 49ers. That was the easy part of the week. The difficult part was making adjustments during the game. The 49ers surprised the Cardinals by using four- and five-receiver sets. But after two touchdown drives by the 49ers, the Cardinals adjusted and shut out the 49ers in the second half.