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The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals square off Sunday afternoon, with both looking to get their first divisional win. This happens to be the 49ers third divisional game, while Arizona has yet to face anybody within the division.
The Cardinals are a 6.5-point favorite, with some sports books willing to go up to seven points. I decided to get a prediction from Seth Cox over at Revenge of the Birds. It is not surprising he expects an ugly game.
This is going to be ugly. I know the 49ers just put up a boatload of points against the Rams, but this is in Arizona, so I wouldn't expect that to happen, especially with the methodical pace the Cardinals have been playing at. I expect a dogfight though. The 49ers young defensive front is going to be handful if the Cardinals are still down starters on their offensive line. Even if the starters are back, D.J. Humphries is coming off a knee sprain and has only played eight snaps this year. Mike Iupati is coming off an injury and has not looked like himself and Jared Veldheer has been completely awful. It is hard to see all of that getting fixed in one week. So, I expect an ugly game. All that being said, I haven't been accurate in a single game this season for the Cardinals, so we'll probably see a repeat of last Thursday Night's shootout between LA and SF, this time in the desert.
I agree that this likely ends up an ugly game. I am not one to bet on the point total, but the under on the 44.5 point total is intriguing to me. I suppose the same could have been said for last week’s Thursday Night Football, but I think it makes sense again this week. The 49ers get an edge on defense in facing a bad offensive line. The Cardinals get an edge on defense facing a shaky offensive line and an offense that is struggling to get much consistency in the passing game.
I put in my prediction in our prediction contest, and went with a 49ers 20-13 win. I think this ends up a fairly close game, and again, low scoring. The pass rush will be key on defense, and Carlos Hyde and/or Matt Breida will be key on offense.