Cardinals left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. said he’s never seen anything like it.
The 49ers have.
Arizona couldn’t practice to start the week. They were forced to issue a double-sided injury report on Friday.
They’re banged up to high heaven, leading the Arizona Republic to declare that they’re the NFL’s “unluckiest team.”
“This is probably the first year that I’ve been in this kind of environment where it’s a lot of guys going down,” Johnson said this week.
Apparently the Cardinals have not been keeping tabs on their NFC West rivals.
The 49ers are in sitting in the back of the Unlucky Saloon, holding down a table for so long they can receive mail there.
And they have a question for the Cardinals:
First time?
Call Sunday’s Niners-Cardinals showdown the Battle of Wounded Knee… and Leg, and Shoulder, and Feet, and even Appendixes. You don’t need NFL Next Gen Stats data to break down this game, you need a copy of Gray’s Anatomy and a first-year resident on call.
Sure, the Niners will be without stars — down Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, and perhaps even Deommodore Lenoir — but at least there’s some certainty on who is in and out. But only Lenoir — listed as questionable as of Friday afternoon — carries an injury designation going into Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have five players ruled out and six listed as questionable.
All things considered, the Niners might be the healthier team coming into Sunday’s game.
I can’t remember the last time that happened.
The Niners did receive some other good news on the injury front this week: Brock Purdy is returning to the starting quarterback job and Ricky Pearsall to the top receiver spot.
It put the 49ers’ offense in a position where they can argue they’re a full squad. (Shout out David Lee.)
And it couldn’t come at a better time: this Niners offense has to carry San Francisco to the playoff this season.
Seven games remain on the schedule. The Niners need at least four more wins to make the postseason, and they have a defense that, at least last week, could stop neither the run nor the pass.
Perhaps Arizona is so depleted that — former Stanford star Michael Wilson has become the team’s No. 1 receiver for backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett — that the Niners’ defense will receive a one-week reprieve.
Or perhaps Brissett, who has been markedly better than Kyler Murray (two more yards on his average target, 86 more passing yards and a touchdown more per game) has opened up the Cardinals’ offense enough that Sunday’s game will be a more fair shootout than 49ers-Rams.
Either way, the Niners’ offensive goal this week — and every week from this point onwards — is simple: four touchdowns or bust.
I think they can do it.
But, alas, I’m only going after three — predictions that is — for Sunday’s game.
Brock Purdy’s mobility will shine
Mac Jones did a wonderful job filling in for Purdy, winning five games to put the 49ers in a position to fight for a playoff spot. The Niners are, somehow, the NFL’s leading passing team this campaign going into Week 11’s game.
But for all the great things Jones did during his time in the saddle, one thing he did not do was threaten opposing defenses with his legs.
As such, defenses could sell out a bit against the run and as a blitzing team, knowing that Jones would check out of bad run looks but wouldn’t extend the subsequent passing plays to find the big gain, much less break a man-to-man defense with a big scramble. More often than not, he’d hit a simple slant or toss the ball to Christian McCaffrey. Ignore the stats against the Rams — they were barely trying after going up three scores. The efficacy was waning.
If Purdy is healthy, and he swears he is, he not only challenges every area of the field with his arm, but keeps defenses honest with his feet.
Jones is a strong system quarterback. The system can only take you so far. This team needs from Brock Magic, and I think it’s — pardon the puns — in the Cards this week.
The 49ers’ offensive line keeps up its good play
The 49ers tried out more gap (man-to-man) blocking runs against the Buccaneers Week 6, but really committed to it against the Falcons in Week 7.
Since then, the Niners’ run game has been ok (a massive upgrade from terrible) and after last Sunday’s strong performance against the Rams’ formidable pass rush, you can argue that San Francisco’s much maligned offensive line is playing well.
It did not, you will recall, play well against the Cardinals when these two teams played in September. The Cardinals’ gap-and-a-half defensive front and thumping linebackers gave the Niners real trouble.
But the new approach up front and improved health (particularly at left guard) should change that paradigm in the second go around. I’m expecting the Niners to rush for 4.5 yards or better per carry on Sunday, with Brian Robinson providing another nice counterpunch to McCaffrey’s all-around excellence.
Special teams picks up the slack
Much like with the Niners’ offensive line play, the team’s special teams units — particularly in return and coverage — have improved in recent weeks, with Siran Neal looking like the standout that was promised when the Niners signed him with high praise this past offseason.
The Cardinals, I suspect, will be able to move the ball on Sunday, particularly from heavy (two-or-three tight end sets that attack either a smaller Niners defense or linebackers that can’t play in space), and while the Niners will be scoring, the margin might come down to the third phase of the game.
Hidden yardage — the kind that’s gained or lost when you’re in the bathroom — will prove huge in this game, and the Niners will be on the right side of it.
Prediction: 49ers 30, Cardinals 25