After tackling Ted Ginn midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Arizona's Michael Adams gave the 49ers' kickoff returner a shove as Ginn was getting back to his feet.

The push along the Niners' sideline earned Adams a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty and inspired the ire of San Francisco left tackle Anthony Davis.

As Davis (6-foot-5, 323 pounds) moved toward Adams (5-8, 181), though, his anger turned to amusement. Davis laughed and, with his right thumb directed across the field to the Cardinals' bench, told Adams to move along.

"He's so small," Davis said. "At first, I was like, 'Get the hell out of here!' Then I looked at him and I was like, 'C'mon, man, just go away.' "

In similar fashion, the Niners dismissed the visiting Cardinals 23-7, showing their NFC West rivals that though they remain in the same division, they are playing in a much different league.

The 49ers (9-1), who clinched their first winning season since 2002, reeled off their eighth straight win by dominating Arizona in a game whose one-sidedness wasn't reflected on the scoreboard.

After quarterback Alex Smith gave the 49ers a 23-0 lead with an 18-yard touchdown to tight end Vernon Davis late in the third quarter, the Niners were outgaining Arizona 370-70, had 19 first downs to the Cardinals' three and were overwhelming the visitors in terms of time of possession (31:16 to 9:30).

Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt conceded it didn't feel as if the Cardinals - a 3-7 team that had more turnovers (five) than first downs (four) after three quarters - got beat by merely 16 points.

"No question," Whisenhunt said. "Absolutely. Doesn't feel good at all."

The Cardinals entered on a two-game win streak that had created a simmering quarterback controversy as backup John Skelton had performed capably in place of starter Kevin Kolb the previous two weeks.

San Francisco's defense ended that discussion and ended Skelton's day early.

Skelton was benched after completing 6 of 19 passes and throwing interceptions to linebacker Patrick Willis and safeties Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson in the first three quarters. His quarterback rating: 10.5.

Based on Whisenhunt's postgame assessment, the 49ers, who lead the NFL in points allowed per game (14.5), made the second-year pro revert to 2010.

"John played like a rookie today and that was tough," Whisenhunt said.

On the other sideline, Smith (20-for-38, 267 yards, two TDs, one interception) directed an offense that collected 431 yards, 25 first downs and didn't punt until there were less than two minutes left in the third quarter.

Still, the 49ers were far from flawless. Despite starting two first-half drives inside the Cardinals' 39-yard line, San Francisco led only 9-0 at halftime on three field goals from David Akers, who also missed a first-half field-goal try and had two that were blocked.

The Niners' six possessions in the first two quarters resulted in six field-goal attempts and they managed three points on two red-zone possessions. In the first quarter, Smith sailed a pass high to an open Braylon Edwards on 3rd-and-goal from Arizona's 4.

"The way they were playing, we really made that game more difficult than it had to be," Smith said. "I think a team like that, if we were able to capitalize on a couple of those drives early with the way our defense was playing, all of a sudden, that game gets really lopsided."

It didn't become a laugher. It also was not in doubt.

The 49ers opened the third quarter with a 13-play, 84-yard drive that lasted nearly eight minutes and was capped by Smith's 8-yard toss to Kyle Williams for a 16-0 lead. Wideout Michael Crabtree (seven catches, 120 yards) sparked the offense on the drive's second play with a 29-yard catch-and-run on which he broke four tackles.

"I thought Michael Crabtree got us really going on offense," head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Just his extra effort, third and fourth effort when he got his hands on the ball."

San Francisco put the game away on its next drive with Smith's perfectly placed 18-yard toss to Davis in the right corner of the end zone to grab a 23-0 lead.