Do the Cardinals remain the only undefeated team?
There is only one team left in the NFL without a defeat: the Arizona Cardinals. So they’re the only team left with a chance to make history with a 17-0 season – even if the chances of that happening are slim.
After all, they play in the NFC West, undoubtedly the strongest division in the league. So on Sunday, another divisional clash is on the agenda. Their opponents are the 49ers at home, who have weakened a little recently.
San Francisco will probably have to do without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo again, who has injury worries once more. This time it’s his calf, which makes it almost impossible for him to play.
That’s exactly why we see them trailing against Arizona, as rookie Trey Lance isn’t ready to carry a top team just yet. For Cardinals vs. 49ers, our prediction is another offensive hail mary for the Cards, which should also put their record at 5-0.
Kickoff of one of the top games of NFL Match Week 5 is Sunday at 10:25pm in Arizona. The match will be broadcast live on ProSieben Maxx and on DAZN’s RedZone.
United States Arizona Cardinals – Statistics & current form
Last Team Standing is the name of the game in the NFL at the moment, as only the Arizona Cardinals are still without a defeat after four days of play. The fact that 31 teams have already lost so early speaks for the incredible balance in the league.
But it is astonishing that the Cards, of all teams, are holding up the flag of the unbeaten. Although, if we take a closer look, this astonishment is somewhat diminished, as Arizona has done a lot right in the off-season as well.
Three top-class players were signed in the summer
With centre Rodney Hudson, defensive end J.J. Watt and wide receiver A.J. Green, three absolute top stars in the league were newly signed. If we add running back James Connor and kicker Matt Prater, there are even five new stars.
So an 8-8 team just became a team that is now much improved, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Cards could end up winning between 13 and 15 games. We got our first glimpse of their potential against LA on Sunday.
Watt still with room to run
In the surprising 37:20 win over the Rams, two of the newcomers, Connor and Green, promptly stood out. Only J.J. Watt is not yet the difference player he was signed to be. Again on Sunday he failed to make a single tackle.
This means the Cards haven’t reached the end of the line yet, something the 49ers will feel this weekend If quarterback Murray doesn’t slip up again, as he did so often in the preseason, we see no reason to bet against them.
For Arizona against San Francisco, the odds on the Cardinals are also still OK. They even get better if we include the expected over points. Because if there’s one team that regularly puts up well over 30 points, it’s the Cardinals.
Key Players:
QB: Kyler Murray
– RB: Chase Edmonds
– WR: DeAndre Hopkins
– WR: Christian Kirk
– K: Matt Prater
United States San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & Current form
2:2. What sounds quite decent already means the bottom of the table for the 49ers in the strong NFC West. The Californians will have to improve considerably if they want to have a say in this division. Our prediction: It won’t work.
Why? For one thing, we think the Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks are too strong, and for another, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo simply can’t stay injury-free. He is currently out due to problems with his calf.
Trey Lance must take over earlier than hoped
So rookie Trey Lance is being thrown in at the deep end much earlier than they had planned in San Francisco. What happens when still unfinished quarterbacks have to start in the NFL, we see impressively this season with Wilson, Fields and Co.
Whereas Lance didn’t do that badly on Sunday and scored a touchdown with his first pass. After that, however, he didn’t throw any more 50% completed passes and it wasn’t going to get any easier against the Cardinals.
At least Lance had to play against the weakest defence in the league on Sunday, but next weekend he will face Arizona, a team that allows 90 yards less per game than Seattle.
Hopefuls Defense
So, as in recent years, the burden is likely to be on their defence. Although they have far fewer injury worries than last year, they still allow the eleventh most points of all teams with 25.5 Not what leads to victories in the end.
Since we don’t expect San Francisco to score over 27 points of their own on Sunday, the odds of success are once again rather slim. With Cards vs. 49ers, a tip on Arizona is thus clearly our first choice.
Key Players:
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB: Trey Sermon
– WR: Deebo Samuel
– TE: George Kittle
– K: Robbie Gould
Arizona Cardinals – San Francisco 49ers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
In recent years, teams have more or less taken turns winning. They are 3:3 in the past six games and each team won a game last year as well.
Still, we don’t see a 50-50 game coming our way here. On the one hand, the Cards have the home advantage, on the other hand, they also have the qualitatively stronger squad On the wide receiver position alone, they have three absolute giants on the roster with Hopkins, Kirk and Green.
We expect them to score a lot of points again. It would be a surprise if Arizona doesn’t break the 30-point mark again. So we can also combine bets on them well with over-points, which also brings good odds with Cards against 49ers.
United States Arizona Cardinals – San Francisco 49ers United States Tip
Arizona has home advantage, a top squad and momentum on its side that should not be underestimated. San Francisco, on the other hand, will have to play a backup rookie quarterback. Not the best conditions for the 49ers.
While the NFL has already had a few surprises this year, we don’t expect another one for this matchup on Sunday. With Arizona vs. San Francisco, our pick is Cardinals + Over 50 total points
In addition to this combo bet, betting on pure over points (Over 50.0) is also an option we can consider After all, the Cardinals score 35.0 points per game – the most of any team in the league
