49ers host Cards seeking 10th straight win, NFC West sweep
ARIZONA (4-12) at SAN FRANCISCO (12-4)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: 49ers by 14
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Cardinals 8-8; 49ers 10-6
SERIES RECORD: 49ers lead 33-29
LAST MEETING: 49ers beat Cardinals 38-10 on Nov. 21, 2022, at Mexico City
LAST WEEK: Cardinals lost to Falcons 20-19; 49ers beat Raiders 37-34 in OT.
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (20), PASS (18), SCORING (21)
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (13), PASS (25), SCORING (29)
49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (8), PASS (13), SCORING (6)
49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (1), PASS (20), SCORING (1)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Cardinals minus-1; 49ers plus-9.
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie TE Trey McBride had seven catches for 78 yards in last week’s loss to the Falcons. His role has steadily increased since veteran Zach Ertz was lost for the season because of a knee injury. McBride was a second-round pick last spring and looks like he’s developing into a useful part of the passing game.
49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Brandon Aiyuk is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season with nine catches for 101 yards and a TD. Aiyuk needs 44 yards Sunday for his first career 1,000-yard season.
KEY MATCHUP: Cardinals’ back seven vs. 49ers’ pass catchers. San Francisco relies heavily on playmakers generating yards after catch and Arizona has struggled stopping that all season. The Niners rank third in the NFL averaging 6.6 yards after catch per reception, including 7.6 in the first meeting against Arizona. The Cardinals are last in the NFL allowing an average of 6.15 yards after catch.
KEY INJURIES: The Cardinals’ injury list had 17 players on it for Wednesday’s practice. … QB Colt McCoy (concussion) has been shut down for the season and coach Kliff Kingsbury said David Blough will get his second start in a row. … WR DeAndre Hopkins (knee) won’t play Sunday. … Kingsbury said RB James Conner (shin) is day to day while he expects WR Hollywood Brown (wrist) to play. … WR Deebo Samuel (knee, ankle) and RB Elijah Mitchell (knee) could return this week for the 49ers. … San Francisco LB Dre Greenlaw (back) is questionable this week and G Aaron Banks (knee) will miss the game.
SERIES NOTES: The 49ers are seeking their second series sweep against the Cardinals in the past nine seasons. San Francisco also swept Arizona in 2019. … The Cardinals have won 11 of the last 15 meetings against the 49ers.
STATS AND STUFF: The Cardinals have lost six straight games and eight of the past nine. … DL J.J. Watt will be playing the final game of his stellar 12-year career. He announced last week he is retiring after this season. Watt spent 10 years with the Texans and two with the Cardinals. He’s a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year. … The 49ers are one of three teams (also Houston and Chicago) that Watt hasn’t recorded any sacks against. … Because of injuries, RT Kelvin Beachum, S Jalen Thompson and LB Zaven Collins are the only three players who have started all 16 games this season. They’re all expected to start their 17th game Sunday. … The Cardinals have started four different QBs in a season for just the second time since 1950. … K Matt Prater has made field goals from 50, 53, 55, 56 and 57 yards over the past three games. … San Francisco has won nine straight for its longest win streak since an 11-game run in 1997. … The 49ers are 5-0 against the NFC West and are seeking their first perfect season in the division since going 8-0 in 1997. … Only three NFC West teams have gone undefeated in the division since the start of the eight-division era in 2002: Seattle (2005), Arizona (2008) and Los Angeles (2018). … San Francisco’s average starting field position at the 31.1 yard line is best in the NFL. … The 49ers allowed no sacks last week for the fifth time this season. … QB Brock Purdy has thrown at least two TD passes in five straight games for the longest streak for the 49ers since Jeff Garcia did it eight games in a row in 2001. … Purdy is the fifth rookie QB to win his first four career starts. … RB Christian McCaffrey had 193 yards from scrimmage last week and scored a TD for the fifth straight game. McCaffrey is tied for the NFL lead with 11 games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage this season. … Niners TE George Kittle has at least one TD catch in three straight games. … Robbie Gould’s five missed field goal from inside 50 yards are the most for a San Francisco kicker in a season since David Akers had nine in 2012.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL