Will the Cardinals surprise the next top team?

After three weeks in the NFL, there is no game at the bookmakers where the contrasts are as great as in the NFC West divisional duel in which the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night. The tip search is difficult in that the home side are the heavy favourites in the markets. When a team with a 3-0 record meets a team with only one win, it is rarely to be expected otherwise. Still, there is one conceivable scenario in which the game is not as clear-cut as the market suggests.

The Niners already opened the third day of play at home in the “Thursday Night Game” against the New York Giants and thus had a longer break, plus no travel hassles at all. That certainly plays into the hosts’ favour as well. As the 3-0 record already shows, they also held their own against the team from the “Big Apple” and won with 30:12. With that, the Niners have put exactly 30 points on the scoreboard in every game, and it is at least not impossible that they will do the same in the second home game of the season.

But the upcoming opponent travels to California with a surprise win! After two losses in the season opener, Arizona surprised the Cowboys in the direct duel, who were still undefeated and very convincing on the road. Probably nobody would have bet on a success of head coach Jonathan Gannon’s team before the game and that is certainly a parallel to the game on Sunday at “Levi’s Stadium”.

San Francisco 49ers – Statistics & current form

The Niners’ performance against the Giants divided opinions. Those who wanted to could undoubtedly find hairs in the soup, those who didn’t wanted to, rested on the – in the end clear – victory. But that shouldn’t hide the fact that young quarterback Brock Purdy had a hard time with the aggressive NY defence, especially at the beginning. Moreover, the result was deceptive, because until the beginning of the fourth quarter, the guests were only one score behind. Then, however, the strong defence of the Bay Area team took command again.

Playmakers as far as the eye can see

In the absence of pass receiver Brandon Aiyuk, it was still the familiar names again that carried the Shanahan offense. With seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell, however, an unknown receiver opened the touchdown round of the tenth Niners season at “Levi’s Stadium”. In addition, Deebo Samuel and – of course – Christian McCaffrey contributed six points via end zone visits. For CMC it was the twelfth game in a row in which he scored a touchdown. The NFL record is 15 games in a row and so he naturally wants to continue his record chase in the 49ers vs. Cardinals duel. A bet on this unfortunately brings little value to the markets.

The young playmaker looked a bit overwhelmed against NY at the beginning, but improved in the course of the game. With the luck of the fittest, he – and the Niners – were spared a turnover. Can he continue this series? Caution should be advised, because the defence that is now waiting for Purdy and Co. forced the first turnover of the Dallas offence last week.

But if all the strands of the offence should break, there is always the extremely strong defence coached by Steve Willks, which is currently ranked third in the league statistics. Will they be able to defend the visitors’ offence better than Dallas did last week? It’s probably no surprise that between the 49ers and Cardinals, our prediction clearly leans in that direction.

Key Players:

• QB: Brock Purdey
• RB: Christian McCaffrey
• WR: Deebo Samuel
• TE: George Kittle
• K: Jack Moody

Arizona Cardinals – Statistics & current form

And yet the performance that the team from Glendale delivers week after week cannot be overestimated. After the extreme upheaval in the offseason, which affected the head coach position among other things, they were repeatedly traded as one of the worst teams. It is by no means out of the question that the Birds will be allowed to pick in the top-5 at the end of the year, but they have nevertheless delivered appealing performances so far.

Gameplan works

Franchise quarterback Kyler Murray continues to suffer from the injury he suffered last season, so it is Joshua Dobbs, who arrived just ten days before the season, who leads the offence. This looks schematically almost perfectly adjusted in every match, as the extremely successful running game against the Cowboys clearly showed. They had previously allowed 168 yards on the ground in two games, but were nearly overrun in Glendale with 222 rushing yards.

The structure of the defence is also new, due to the changed coordinator. The fact that this is already bearing fruit despite major personnel changes cannot be overstated. The unit is loaded with talent and has now managed to keep the games close three times in a row. In the Giants’ mega-comeback in week two, they did allow 31 points, but that was only because their own offence was non-existent in the second half, leaving the defence on the field almost non-stop.

Arizona conceded an average of 22.3 points over the first three league games, which is league average. Between the 49ers and Cardinals, predicting that the home side will exceed that average seems anything but bold after the performances of the Niners’ offence so far. However, the Birds – just like against Dallas – should be expected to spring a surprise here as well.

Key Players:

• QB: Josuha Dobbs
• RB: James Conner
• WR: Marquise Brown
• TE: Zach Ertz
• K: Matt Prater

San Francisco 49ers – Arizona Cardinals Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Because both teams are based in the NFC West, they meet regularly and so 63 played duels can be found in the past. 34 times the Niners won, in 29 games the franchise from the state of Arizona kept the upper hand. San Francisco won only two of the last eight home games. After all, the 49ers swept the Cardinals last season. However, the betting odds that Shanahan’s team will now celebrate its third success in a row against the Big Red do not exude any appeal.

San Francisco 49ers – Arizona Cardinals Tip

The bookmakers are giving out a 14-point spread for the game and that is by far the biggest of the entire matchday. The Niners won their previous games by 23, seven and 18 points, but we still can’t recommend a bet that they will win by at least 14 points. The Cardinals have managed to keep all their matches close so far – against equally strong teams. That is why we also choose the prediction that the guests will move the ball and thus be able to score. Our decision ultimately falls on the tip that the Big Red can contribute at least 14 points of their own.

One thing has already been mentioned in the 49ers section: Christian McCaffrey is currently in a league of his own, and not just because he’s producing touchdowns like a conveyor belt. He is involved in this creative offensive scheme in so many ways that it will be almost impossible for the visitors to keep him under control for the entire game. So another successful end zone visit from the former Stanford and Panthers running back would come as little surprise.

As we again expect some points to be scored, a betting call in terms of touchdowns is also possible. Likewise, it seems quite realistic that the issued limit of 43.5 points will be reached.