NFL Week 11 is here and brings us a divisional matchup from the NFC West as the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals collide for Monday night football in one of the more important games this week on the NFL schedule.
Only one game separates these two division rivals, as neither of them is out of the race for first in the NFC West. This is the first meeting between these two squads, and a win here could very well be the difference between playing in the playoffs and watching them from home.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals
Matchup Info
- Date: Monday, November 21, 2022
- Time: 8:15 p.m.
- Location: Mexico City
- Venue: Estadio Azteca
- How to Watch: ESPN
The big separating factor of these teams is the quality of play on the defensive side of the ball. This game has one of the biggest disparities in talent on defense of all the NFL matchups this week.
The 49ers’ defense is single-handedly keeping the 49ers’ playoffs dreams alive, while Arizona’s defense is single-handedly sinking theirs. While Kyler Murray brings fireworks for the Cardinals on the offensive side of the ball, it is still unsure if he will be able to play come Monday night, which very well could be the difference.
San Francisco 49ers Performance Recap and Analysis
The San Francisco 49ers are having a good season, currently sitting with a 5-4 record, which puts them just a game behind Seattle for the lead of the NFC West in the NFL standings. The 49ers have gotten to this point playing behind a great defense that some could argue is the best in the league.
When looking at the 49ers’ NFL team stats, the offense is very middle of the road as they rank 18th in the league in points per game, scoring about 22 points a contest. Though they rank 9th in yards per game and the 5th best 3rd Down conversion rate in the league, the 49ers are having issues finding the endzone when they get to the red zone.
The 49ers are scoring touchdowns on only 54.84% of their trips to the red zone, which really is hindering the output of the offense. The defense, on the other hand, is winning them games as they ranked 4th in the league in points allowed per game and 1st in yards allowed per game.
Key Injuries
The defensive front for the 49ers is a little banged up as Samson Ebukam and Arik Armstead are both listed as questionable on the NFL injury report, and signs point to them not playing or at least not playing as much as they usually do.
Betting Trends to Know
The 49ers are 2-3 against the spread in their past five outings. Keep that in mind when making your San Francisco 49ers picks.
Arizona Cardinals Performance Recap and Analysis
The Cardinals currently sit at 4-6 and 3rd place in the NFC West. The Cardinals are similar to the 49ers in the sense that they have a middle-of-the-road offense that has the potential to have big games. However, what separates them is the fact that the Arizona defense is abysmal this year.
The Arizona Cardinals‘ stats on defense are atrocious, currently ranked 30th in points allowed per game and 22nd in yards allowed per game. With opponents converting on 3rd down 43.97% of the time, it’s hard to find much to praise for this defensive unit, but what else would you expect from a unit coached and led by Vance Joseph?
The real shame is that the offense isn’t doing too badly. The Cardinals rank 13th in the league in points per game and 11th in both red zone touchdown rate and touchdowns per game.
Kyler Murray currently has a season that statistically is about on par with how he usually does. When looking at his NFL player stats, he has gone 240 of 360 for 2,168 yards, 12 TDs, and 6 INTs in a season with both very high highs and low lows for the young QB.
Key Injuries
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Kyler Murray still has been limited in practices after not playing last week. It is still in question if he will be healthy enough to play come Monday night. The Cardinals have nothing to fear if Colt McCoy can play the same way he did last week. McCoy led the Cardinals to a 27-17 win and put up a stat line of 26 of 37 for 238 yards and 1 TD.
Betting Trends to Know
The Cardinals are 5-5 against the spread this season though they haven’t had a lot of recent success. This is a factor to keep in mind when making your NFL picks.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Odds
The NFL odds have the San Francisco 49ers as huge favorites. The spread has San Francisco as -8 point favorites with a moneyline of-345 while the comeback on the Cardinals is +285. The point total is set at 43.5 points.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Betting Picks
Moneyline (49ers -345)
The San Francisco defense is so good they can shut down the best offenses in the league, so Arizona shouldn’t be a challenge, especially if Kyler Murray doesn’t play. The Cardinals’ defense is bad enough that it doesn’t matter that the 49ers’ offense is lackluster.
Over/Under (U43.5)
San Francisco doesn’t push the pace and likes to control the clock. I don’t see Arizona scoring much, as they won’t have many opportunities to do so. The under is actually my favorite of my 49ers vs Cardinals betting picks.
Spread (49ers -8)
San Francisco has the pieces to exploit a weak Arizona team. The 49ers need this win to help their endeavors at winning the division, and I expect them to come out determined and put on a dominating performance to try and create some separation in the division.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Score Prediction
I have the San Francisco 49ers winning 24-10. In such a dominant fashion that all my 49ers vs Cardinals betting picks are going San Francisco’s way.
NFL Pick: 49ers -345, U43.5, 49ers -8
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