49ers vs. Cardinals Line: San Francisco opens between 4 1/2- and 6-point favorites

Although Week 7 has not yet reached its conclusion, the lines are starting to open for Week 8 contests. The 49ers and Cardinals are at the far end of the week on Monday Night Football, but since they have both wrapped up their Week 7 games, the line is there.

The folks at Betonline.com had the earliest line on the game yesterday, initially opening it at 4 1/2 points overseas. However, Las Vegas released their lines later in the evening, and they have pushed the game further up. The line opened around six points and has climbed up to seven fairly quickly.

The Cardinals tried to make a late charge on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, but they came up short. The biggest positive they could take from this game was LaRod Stephens-Howling rushing for 104 yards against a generally stout Vikings rush defense. The Vikings entered the game with the third best adjusted line yards and LSH had himself a day against them. He replaced William Powell in a bit of an unexpected move, and the Cardinals found success. We'll see if they can do the same against the 49ers.

The Vikings defensive front had its way with the Cardinals offensive line in the pass rush part of the game, however. They grabbed seven sacks and eight hits on John Skelton. While Skelton did make some plays, this is still a very inviting proposition for the 49ers defensive front seven. They have been effective in bringing pressure, but they do not have the sacks that can be the shiny penny stat. This game could provide an opportunity to pad those totals.

It will be interesting to see if the line rises any further between now and Monday. The 49ers are entirely capable of winning this game, but road division matchups in the NFC West have been a bit of a blood-bath to date. The 49ers can win this game, but it should be another tough NFC West battle.