49ers-Cardinals spread: Line opens with Arizona as slight favorite

The San Francisco 49ers are unlikely to be favored in any games the rest of the season, but this week against Arizona Cardinals they are going to come pretty close. The line opened for the Week 9 matchup, and the 49ers are a one-point underdog, according to Odds Shark. You can find a couple online sports books that have set the game initially as a pick ‘em.

The 49ers-Giants game in two weeks will be an interesting line, but for Arizona, a potential C.J. Beathard-Drew Stanton matchup makes for plenty of question marks. A year ago, Stanton led the Cardinals to a Week 5 road win over Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers. Stanton only completed 11 of 28 passes for 124 yards, but he threw two touchdowns, and was supported by a monster David Johnson performance (157 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns).

I am curious to see if Staley’s injury moves this line at all. If the 49ers get bad news on Staley’s eye x-ray, their line could be in a world of hurt. Trent Brown could get back from his concussion, but for the time being, the line has some serious issues.

Picking the 49ers to cover this spread effectively says I think the 49ers can win this game. This and next week’s game against the New York Giants are the two most winnable remaining games on the 49ers schedule. The Chicago Bears game is winnable as well, but if the 49ers don’t win one of their next two, 0-16 is not entirely out of the question.