San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers: Preview, prediction

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Arizona Cardinals visit the San Francisco 49ers for a prime time game on Thursday Night Football.

The struggling Arizona Cardinals travel to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers, in a game where the loser will be in sole position of last place of the NFC West. The 49ers (1-3) blew a 14 point lead to the Dallas Cowboys, losing 24-17. Meanwhile, the Cardinals gave up a late touchdown to the Los Angeles Rams in a 17-13 loss.

History: The Cardinals and the 49ers have faced each other 49 times in the regular season, with the Cardinals played 13 of these games as the St. Louis Cardinals, and 2 as the Chicago Cardinals. Arizona has an all time 20-29 record against San Francisco. The latest win against the 49ers came in Week 12 of last season where a late Carson Palmer touchdown run proved to be the deciding factor in a 19-13 win.

What: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers

Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

When: 5:25 PM Arizona Time (8:25 PM EST)

TV: CBS

Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM

Oct 2, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton (5) throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Rams won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Keys to victory, Offense:

Quarterback Carson Palmer did not travel with the team to San Francisco. This means that back up Drew Stanton will start for the first time since 2014. Zac Dysert was elevated to the active roster and will be Stanton’s back up.

Stanton has struggled in the preseason and did not look comfortable when filling in for Palmer at the end of last week’s game. Nonetheless, Stanton will need to have his best game as a Cardinal to keep Arizona’s Super Bowl aspirations alive. This is easier than done as Arizona has historically struggled when playing in San Francisco.

However, the task can not fall solely on Stanton’s shoulders as the rest of the offense will need to bring the extra juice. The wide receivers will need to do whatever it can to get open and make things as easy for Stanton as possible. The offensive line, which has struggled this season, needs to give Stanton enough time to find the open receiver.

David Johnson has been Arizona’s most consistent weapon on offense. He’ll have a long day ahead of as a majority of the offense will flow through him. If I’m Bruce Arians, I’m looking to get Johnson and the run game established early to ease pressure off of Stanton.

Oct 2, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Markus Golden (44) attempts to tackle Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Rams won 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Keys to victory, Defense/Special teams

Safety Tyvon Branch was placed on IR and Tharold Simon was promoted to the active roster in his place. With Branch’s absence, Tyrann Mathieu will return to his nickel back role and D.J. Swearinger will move up to safety.

Aside from the Buffalo game, the Cardinals defense has successfully stopped the run overall. The Cardinals will look to continue this success against Carlos Hyde and Shaun Draughn. 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert is also known to use legs and the linebaackers will need to prevent him from making big runs.

With all the injuries on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals waived injured punter Drew Butler. However, this doesn’t mean Ryan Quigley will be the new punter long term. Quigley will need a much better outing than last week as the field position will play a big role in this game.

I expect the offense to be very static with Stanton under center. With this in mind, kicker Chandler Catanzaro may end up being the Cardinals leading scorer.

Oct 2, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians looks on during the first half against the Los Angeles Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Odds:

Arizona -3.5

O/U 42

Prediction:

The Cardinals will have to do everything in its power to save their season. Adjustments need to be made. If that means they will have to stop going for the home run ball every game, then so be it.

Drew Stanton doesn’t have to be Palmer, but he will need to take command of the offense like Palmer does. The defense will need to make stops on third down, and force turnovers. While San Francisco has proven to be a tough place to play for Arizona, the 49ers are a worse team and the Cardinals should be able to do just enough to win.

Arizona Cardinals 17 San Francisco 49ers 16