The Arizona Cardinals (7-1, 4-0 away) battle the San Francisco 49er (3-4, 0-3 home) in an NFC West showdown on the West Coast. Arizona will try and get back on track after suffering their first loss of the season last week, while San Francisco aims for their first home victory of the year.
Sunday’s kickoff is scheduled for a 4:25 p.m. EST at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. San Francisco is a 3-point favorite, and the over-under total is at 45 points.
What to Know – Arizona Cardinals
Arizona’s undefeated season ended last week with a 24-21 Thursday night loss to the Green Bay Packers at home. The loss was tough, but the most significant blow from the event was the status of quarterback Kyler Murray’s health. Murray is a true game-time decision heading into the matchup, and his availability or lack of will significantly impact the outcome of the game.
If Murray can’t go, it’ll be up to Colt McCoy to lead a Cardinals’ offense averaging 30.8 points and 413.3 yards of offense per game. A longtime backup in the league, McCoy has appeared in three games this season for the Cardinals.
Murray isn’t the only Arizona player battling injury. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is listed as questionable for Sunday’s tilt, and pass-catcher AJ Green won’t play after being placed on the COVID-19 list on Tuesday.
Arizona is 6-2 against the spread this season and 5-1 ATS in their last six games on the road. The Cardinals are 10-3 ATS in the previous 13 contests played on the road against the Niners.
What to Know – San Francisco 49ers
San Fran suffered four losses in a row but closed out the month of October with a 33-22 victory on the road against the Bears last week. With a win on Sunday, the Niners can get back to .500 and back in the playoff conversation in the NFC. Niners’ tight end George Kittle, who has been on the injured reserve since Week 4, is expected to suit up Sunday and play on a limited snap count.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw for a season-high 322 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the victory over Chicago. The veteran quarterback has spent time out with injury but looked good leading a San Francisco offense that scored 24.0 points and averages 378.3 yards of offense per game.
The return of Kittle is essential for the San Francisco offense to go along with running back Elijah Mitchell and wide receiver Deebo Samuel who both are expected to play after being limited in practice all week. Samuel has been one of the best wideouts in the league this season, hauling in 44 receptions for 819 yards and four touchdowns.
San Francisco is 2-5 ATS this year and 0-3 ATS at home. The Niners have a 2-4 record ATS in their last six contests in games against NFC opponents.
The Pick is In
Many question marks surround this contest heading into Sunday, which makes it very difficult to predict. The status of Murray has the biggest effect on the outcome and reading the tea leaves coming out of Arizona’s camp, and it’ll be a surprise if he goes.
San Francisco isn’t the better team, but they are the healthier team right now. We will take the 49ers to get their first home victory in a six-point win against Arizona.
Betting Pick: San Francisco 49ers -3
