Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a key division matchup early in the schedule as they meet the San Francisco 49ers on the road in an afternoon contest. The game is being broadcast on FOX and one of four late Sunday games, so the viewership should be high.
Both teams come into the game unbeaten with 2-0-0 records. Currently, there is a three-way tie with the Los Angeles Rams who are also unbeaten in two matches. The Rams play the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Philly in one of the early games.
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If Arizona can beat the 49ers with the Rams against a very tough opponent, the victory would place the Cardinals in sole possession of the NFC West Division.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. No, sir.
The Niners are a very good team this year. They are ranked #6 in passing yards (556) and passing completions (52), #7 in passing attempts (74), #3 in passing TDs (5), and have the second most passing plays of 40+ yards (2). Their rushing attack needs work as they are ranked #22 in rushing yards (196) and #5 in rushing attempts. This means they aren’t getting much per run as they are getting just 3.2 yards per carry on average, which is ranked #29.
Overall, San Fran’s offense is ranked #7 in the league. And they are going to air it out.
What will be the keys to winning this game? Here’s three:
With a very good passing attack, the best method to interrupt the 49ers flow is to get pressure on their quarterback. Starting QB Brock Purdy was out versus the New Orleans Saints this past weekend, but veteran Mac Jones took over and proceeded to toss three touchdown passes in route to a 26-21 victory.
Jones should again start against Arizona. He is not as mobile as Purdy so he isn’t going to be flushed as much. The Saints sacked him three times and that number could just as well have been doubled as Jones was able to get loose on occasion. Purdy is a much better pure passer, but if Jones gets into any sort of rhythm and has a clean pocket, he can throw into tight windows and has the ability to go through his progressions as he threw the ball 39 times.
Against the Saints, Jones threw to 10 different receivers, so he has the experience to get the ball out in a hurry. The Cardinals will need to rush at least four players and sometimes five on occasion to keep Jones from getting any momentum going. The Niners are not a team that will keep a tight end to block on a regular basis as they considered their TEs more pass catchers than extensions of the offensive line.
DT Calais Campbell will need to have good game as well as LDE Josh Sweat and Xavier Thomas with an occasional blitz from S Budda...
