Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers lost their first NFC West game in Week 10 but will look to avoid back-to-back divisional losses with a trip to the desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
When these two faced back in Week 3, it was 49ers’ backup quarterback Mac Jones outlasting the Cardinals’ starting quarterback Kyler Murray in a 16-15 San Francisco victory. The roles will be reversed as Brock Purdy will make his first start since Week 4 against Jacoby Brissett, who will be making his fifth start since replacing the injured Murray.
While Brissett has lifted Arizona’s offense, he’ll be without two weapons as he navigates the 49ers’ defense. That’s where we start this week’s numbers to know:
Arizona will be without 26.3 percent of its targets with Marvin Harrison and Zay Jones ruled out on Sunday.
With the state the 49ers defense is in right now, any break is helpful, and they’ll catch two on Sunday with Harrison (appendicitis) and Jones (Achilles) already ruled out. Arizona’s offense has already had its share of struggles, ranking 20th in points scored and 21st in yards gained.
The offense has had a bit of a resurgence under Brissett, averaging 24.8 points per game —an improvement over the 20.6 it averaged in the five games started by Kyler Murray. Harrison and Jones have both benefited from the Brissett era.
In five games with Murray, Harrison averaged 6.4 targets per game, with only one game with 10 or more targets when he had exactly 10 targets in the Week 4 loss to Seattle. After just eight targets in his first two games with Brissett as the starter, Harrison has seen 22 targets in the last two, upping his average to 7.5 targets per game with Brissett, including his best game of the season, going for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Week 9 victory over Dallas.
Jones, like Harrison, had his best game of the season with Brissett. After only seeing seven targets for five receptions and 37 yards in four games with Murray, Brissett wasted no time making a connection with Jones. In Brissett’s first start this season against Indianapolis, Jones finished with five receptions on eight targets for a team-high 79 yards.
While the 49ers will still have their hands full with Trey McBride, who exploded for a season-high 127 yards in Week 10 in the loss to Seattle, it’ll be a sight for sore eyes that San Francisco won’t have to worry about Harrison or Jones, who are the two leaders in yards per reception for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals’ defense creates pressure on 18.6 percent of dropbacks, the 11th-lowest rate in the league, according to Pro Football Reference.
After missing all but two games with a right toe injury, Brock Purdy makes his return on Sunday, and his mobility might be in question depending on just how well that toe has...
