Who will win the NFC West showdown in Mexico?

Viva la Mexico! The NFC West matchup on the eleventh day of NFL play is the only game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. That makes it the fifth and final international game of this year’s NFL season at the same time, having already played three games in London and one in Munich.

In the “home game” the Arizona Cardinals receive the San Francisco 49ers as underdogs. The odds for a success of the franchise around quarterback Kyler Murray are up to 3.80.

Speaking of Kyler Murray. He had to miss the Cardinals’ last game against the Rams with an injury, but there are increasing signs that he will be able to play for Arizona in Mexico. In his absence, backup quarterback Colt McCoy gave the Glendale team its first win after two straight losses.

The 49ers won in primetime in the “Sunday Night Game” against the Chargers and lived up to their role as favourites. Although this is a divisional duel, it is the first time the two teams have met this season. So far, the Niners have won all three divisional duels this season, once against the Seahawks and twice against the Rams. Can they keep up this series? In the Cardinals vs. 49ers game, a tip on a Niners success flushes odds of up to 1.29 on the betting slip.

Arizona Cardinals – Statistics & current form

The loss of Kyler Murray was the bad news for Kliff Kingsbury and his team ahead of their appearance at the favoured Rams last matchday. But his replacement and veteran McCoy fulfilled the task with flying colours and led the Cardinals to victory against a Rams team that also started with the backup quarterback.

Tough matchup

Murray, however, will likely be able to reclaim his starter’s spot in the upcoming game. It’s his mobility that will be needed against a stout 49ers defense, as Arizona’s offensive line is almost universally stacked with second-tier players. That, against the league’s best defensive line, speaks to the fact that it will be difficult for the offense to move the ball. Nevertheless, in the Cardinals vs. 49ers duel, one of our predictions goes in the direction that the hosts can reach the targeted limit of 16.5 points.

Against the Rams, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was also the preferred target in the passing game, however, Rondale Moore is developing into a strong number 2 receiver behind Hopkins. That’s necessary, too, because to make matters worse, Arizona is now missing another key component of its offence for the rest of the season due to injury in Zach Ertz.

The Cards’ defence is below league average, but still top-10 against opponents’ running plays. It still seems questionable whether they can limit the visitors’ good rungame in the Cardinals vs. 49ers game. We wouldn’t venture a prediction on that, because similarly strong Seahawks twice recorded well over 122 and 158 rushing yards against Arizona.

Key Players:
QB: Kyler Murray
RB: James Conner
WR: DeAndre Hopkins
WR: Rondale Moore
K: Matt Prater

San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form

This was a tough nut to crack for the 49ers last Monday. The Niners trailed until midway through the final quarter before Christian McCaffrey capped a seven-minute offensive series with a touchdown to put Kyle Shanahan’s team in front.

Part of the reason they were unable to take the lead until so late in the game was their choice of plays, which often seemed uncreative and uninspired. Moreover, it was often too conservative. The reason why the Niners were able to take the lead in the match at all was their own defence, which did not allow a single point in the second half after 16 points in the first. This was the second time in a row that the Niners managed to do so.

Offensive diversity

When looking at the duel with the Chargers, one is left with the feeling that the team from the Bay Area has problems finding the right one of the many offensive options. Nevertheless, the coaching staff has to be credited for switching to returnee Elijah Mitchell when “CMC” didn’t work out at running back. He then made an impressive play on the ground.

A good season so far has to be credited to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who currently has hardly any mistakes in his game. Against LA, he repeatedly converted difficult 3rd downs, which gives the offense a higher baseline. JimmyG is ranked sixth in quarterback ratings so far this season, six spots better than last year when he led the Niners to the NFC Championship Game.

The combination of the best rushing and eighth-best passing defence adds up to the best defensive line in the entire league, and that’s exactly what the Arizona Cardinals vs. the San Francisco 49ers will be up against. A bet that the visitors will only allow one touchdown, as they did against LA, brings odds of 1.95 at bookmaker bet365.

Key Players:
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB: Christian McCaffrey
WR: Deebo Samuel
TE: George Kittle
K: Robbie Gould

Arizona Cardinals – San Francisco 49ers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The 49ers still lead the direct comparison of duels against the Cardinals, however, the advantage melted in recent years. The Niners won 32 of the 61 matches, but only three of the last 14 games.

The betting odds have not been as clearly distributed as in the 62nd duel between the Cardinals and 49ers since 2019. Back then, the franchise from the Bay Area had the upper hand.

There have been three previous clashes between Kyler Murray and Jimmy Garoppolo, with JimmyG holding a slight two-to-one edge in wins.

Arizona Cardinals – San Francisco 49ers Tip

Yes, the visitors’ defence is good and they have proven that impressively at times over nine games this season and yet the agile playmaker Murray also posed problems for the Niners defence time and again. In addition, the receiver duo of Hopkins and Moore will be a real acid test for the defensive line coached by DeMeco Ryans. As a result, we expect both teams to be able to score some points and pick the recommendation to at least 15 points for each team. There are attractive odds for that between the Cardinals and 49ers.

In general, however, we expect a game that will not reach the targeted score line of at least 44 points. Therefore, we recommend at this point to choose the tip on fewer points.

The Niners are the better team in the matchup and will most likely prove that in the final game of matchday eleven. However, with the handicap of eight points for the home side, we are leaning towards the Cardinals.