The 49ers want to win the division without losing for a second year in a row.
The San Francisco 49ers (-12) extended their winning streak to five games in Week 13 with a 28-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks (+3). Next up, they travel to Arizona to play the Arizona Cardinals (+12) in Week 15.
This is the second of two meetings between the teams; in Week 4, the 49ers, who had a scorching 5-0 start to the season, defeated the Cardinals 35-16 at Levi’s Stadium.
The 49ers have a few health issues going into the game. Oren Burks, a linebacker, running back Elijah Mitchell, tight end Ross Dwelley, and defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave are all out.
Because of this, defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw and Kevin Givens are anticipated to start, and the 49ers activated running back Jeremy McNichols from the practice squad to support Jordan Mason and Christian McCaffrey.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the 49ers are 12-point favorites going into the game, with 48 points as the over/under.
Here is all the information you require about the 49ers’ Sunday opponent.
Preview of the Opponent
The Arizona Cardinals, who are in the midst of a rebuilding year, are among the worst in the NFL with a 3-10 record right now.
They did, however, come into Week 15 with an extra week of rest thanks to their bye week. They had defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers(-1.5) 24-10 in Week 13.
The wideouts Marquise Brown and Michael Wilson, tight end Geoff Swaim, linebacker Krys Barnes, punter Blake Gillikin, and offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson are the six players on the Cardinals’ injury report going into the weekend.
This season, Arizona’s offense has struggled; they rank 27th in the NFL in terms of points scored per game and 26th in terms of total yards averaged per game.
But they’ve recently had quarterback Kyler Murray and James Conner back from injury, and the former has been competitive in three of the four games this season.
Arizona’s defense is also lacking; they allow 355.3 yards per game, which ranks them 23rd in the NFL, and 25.5 points per game, which ranks them among the bottom three in the league.
When the 49ers faced Arizona in Week 4, they crushed them 35–16. However, this time, Kyler Murray will start at quarterback instead of Josh Dobbs.
Murray has been absent from the last four 49ers games. In Week 5 of 2021, the Cardinals defeated the 49ers 17-10 at home, in his previous meeting with San Francisco.
Will the 49ers maintain their winning streak against a division rival in Week 15, or will the Cardinals manage to stay in contention?
The Game’s Essentials
Turnovers: One of the main problems in potentially upset games is always turnovers.
Ironically, Arizona has demonstrated a strong offensive turnover rate this season, with their efforts having increased significantly over the last three games.
This season, the 49ers and Cardinals are both in the top 10 in terms of giveaways; San Francisco averages 0.9 per game, while the Cardinals average 1.2.
Both teams are still in the top 10 after just the last three games, but Arizona has been particularly strong lately, allowing just two turnovers overall, indicating that even without Kyler Murray, they haven’t given up many points.
Conversely, the 49ers have been among the best teams in the NFL at forcing turnovers; they force 1.8 per game, ranking among the top three.
In spite of their low standing in the league, the Cardinals have improved their play over the past three games, forcing five turnovers.
The 49ers have a dominating record when they play sound football, and the spread shows that. On Sunday, though, that must continue, and that means winning the turnover war.
James Conner: The Cardinals showed they could pull off an upset against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, despite the obvious talent gap between the two clubs.
Even though the 49ers are now superior to the Steelers, the Cardinals will probably attempt to use a similar strategy in Week 15 by relying heavily on James Conner to run the ball.
Conner averaged just over four yards per carry while finishing with 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers on 25 carries.
The Arizona Cardinals ran the ball 38 times, controlling the pace and converting 10 third downs despite the Cardinals’ final 3.8 yards per carry.
The Cardinals will probably concentrate on running the ball, and both Conner and quarterback Kyler Murray are good threats. It might not be pretty.
This season, the 49ers have done a decent job of stopping mobile quarterbacks, but Murray might be their most formidable ground opponent to far.
The 49ers will also have to rely on their backups to stop the run because they will be without their two best defensive tackles, Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave, due to injuries.
It will be interesting to watch Arizona’s ground game against the Bears on Sunday if they have any hope of moving the ball.
Red zone: The 49ers have been outstanding over the last three games, scoring seven points on nine of their ten opportunities inside their opponent’s 20-yard line, after struggling to convert touchdowns in the area for a few weeks.
They will now play an Arizona offense that is perfect inside the 20-yard line over the last three games and is among the top five in red zone scoring (63.3%).
The 49ers rank among the top 10 teams in the NFL in red zone defense, giving up touchdowns on just 50% of opposing drives, so this should be an interesting red zone matchup.
They have soared into the top three over the last three games, allowing opponents to convert just 33.3% of their red zone drives into touchdowns.
Even though they haven’t been a particularly good red zone defense this season, the Cardinals have managed to rank in the top ten over the last three weeks, allowing opponents to score on just 50% of their drives inside the 20-yard line.
Given the large spread, the redzone is one place where the outcome of this game could be determined because both teams must give up something.