Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers: Choo-Choo

Hosting divisional lead in prime time

After 3 wins in a row, that streak was ended for the Cardinals on Sunday. They were defeated by the Saints in New Orleans which was no surprise, considering that they were a double-digit underdog. They actually managed to keep the game within one score, entering the 4th quarter, but the Saints managed to finish them off with two touchdowns in the last period.

They will look to get back to .500 against the leader of their division on Thursday Night Football. It's not gonna be easy, considering that they are are a huge underdog once again. They are also not matching up very well against the Niners offense, allowing 4.7 yards per carry and defending the tight ends poorly. That is where San Francisco can really hurt them. Running the ball the way they did so far and getting the ball to George Kittle in the passing game. Trading for Emmanuel Sanders and providing another receiving threat outside the numbers should spread the defense out more and help Kittle work the middle.

But I woudn't stick a fork in the Cardinals just yet. It seems like Kyler Murray is getting more comfortable in this offense by the week. Everything is running smoother and they are executing it on a higher level. Christian Kirk is back after the injury and he had a great game in New Orleans. And they also might get David Johnson back for this one.

Steamrolling

On the other side, 49ers are just blowing teams out week after week. Panthers suffered an ugly beatdown on Sunday, losing 51-13. Kyle Shannahan is a brilliant mind that created the best rushing offense in recent years. It is amazing how productive they are on the ground, regardless of the personnel that they are putting on the field. They are missing both starters at the tackle, but it didn't slow them down one bit. They are rotating 4 running backs and every one of them has its own role.

The defense deserves a lot of credit for this 7-0 record as well. Robert Saleh realized that his previous scheme wasn't working well with this personnel, so he changed it. That is something that we'll rarely see from a coach, but he swallowed his pride, got back to the drawing board and fixed his defense. Wide 9 front is allowing his D-line to get more penetration and create pressure. The secondary is also playing much better, despite missing their starting corner Akhello Whiterspoon.

Cardinals vs 49ers best bet

We are jumping straight into the player props. First of all, you have to be ready for the announcement of the inactives later today. 49ers are dealing with some injuries in the backfield and once we find out who's playing and who's not. there will be some nice opportunities out there. Breida is dealing with an ongoing ankle injury, that knocked him out of the game vs Carolina. And also Mostert is dealing with some knee/quad issues. On a short week, they might not have enough time to recover. So if they'll be unable to play (or at least Breida), Coleman will be in a bell-cow role. Considering how often the Niners are running the ball and how much success they might have vs this run defense, that 70.5 line that is out there seems a bit low. Another bet related to this injury situation is Jeff Wilson Jr to score a touchdown. He is usually their No.4 back, but when one of the two leaders is out, he'll take on a role of a goal-line back. He scored 4 touchdowns this season and also got two red-zone touches last week when Breida was out of the game.

The first bet we'll be making is Garoppolo to throw an interception. It's a bet that made me some money this season, considering Jimmy G threw 7 INT's in as many games and had at least one in 6 out of 7 games. But I'm not just betting it blindly. I look at the matchup as well. The only problem here is if Niners jump out into a big lead and just run the ball in the second half. But since they're 7-0, that was happening in previous games as well. I like the interception bet because of the matchup vs this defense. Cardinals mostly play zone with corners playing off and reading the eyes of the QB. And they have couple of good ones in Patrick Peterson and Byron Murphy. Also, the linebackers are dropping into their zones a lot, trying to tip the passes and that is where Garoppolo struggled a lot. Not seeing the underneath coverage.