San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals: 5 bold predictions vs 49ers

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

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October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Markus Golden (44) celebrates a defensive stop during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

The Arizona Cardinals go for the sweep of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon

The Arizona Cardinals play host to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The teams last met on October 6th with the Cardinals defeating the 49ers 33-21.

The Cardinals were without starting quarterback Carson Palmer, who had suffered a concussion just four days earlier against the Los Angeles Rams. Drew Stanton got the start. Palmer will be the starter today.

As for the 49ers, they started Blaine Gabbert at quarterback in that contest. Today they will be going with Colin Kaepernick. They went to Kaepernick after Gabbert’s performance that night but the change has helped little as the 49ers haven’t won a game since week one.

With the Cardinals coming off the bye expect a lot of energy from them on Sunday. It may not always translate into points but there should be a noticeable difference from how the game with the Carolina Panthers transpired two weeks ago.

With that said, here are five bold predictions heading into Sunday’s game. Some of them may not be so bold, but they are predictions nonetheless.

Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) scores on a 2-yard touchdown run against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter during a NFL game at Levi

David Johnson will rush for at least 100-yards

The 49ers have allowed a 100-yard rusher in seven consecutive games. Not coincidentally, the 49ers have lost all seven of those games.

The last time the Cardinals and 49ers met, Cardinals running back David Johnson ran for 157-yards. Look for another 100+ yard game from Johnson on Sunday afternoon.

The 49ers have not been able to stop anyone on the ground. They really haven’t stopped anyone on the ground or air period, but the 100-yard rushers have been a big reason why the 49ers have left themselves little chance for victory in their last seven games.

Johnson was held to just 24-yards two weeks ago against the Panthers. He will be looking to get back on track on Sunday. There is no better team to get healthy rushing statistics against than the 49ers.

Johnson will also likely get a number of touches in the air as well. This should be a great stat-builder type of game for Johnson. At the end of the day, the 49ers will have given up their eighth-consecutive 100-yard rusher.

Oct 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) down on a play against Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Markus Golden (44) during the second quarter at Levi

Cardinals defense scores

The Cardinals defense played well for the most part against the 49ers in October. They also had a field day last season in their game in Arizona.

The game in Arizona last season had the Cardinals winning 47-7. The Cardinals defense was a big part of that whipping that day.

The defense had two touchdown returns in the rout of the 49ers. On Sunday, look for at least one defensive touchdown from the Cardinals.

After playing so well against the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, the defense got embarrassed by the Panthers. They allowed the Panthers to put up 17 straight points against them after taking a 7-0 lead on a fumble return.

The Cardinals were down 24-0 before they could blink an eye. They won’t let that happen again on Sunday. Coming off the bye, look for the Cardinals to be flying around.

Unfortunately they will be without safety Tyrann Mathieu, who is out with an injured shoulder. However the Cardinals have plenty of weapons to still create a lot of damage.

Oct 30, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) passes the ball during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Carson Palmer throws at least two touchdowns

One of the bright spots against the Panthers a couple of weeks ago was Palmer. He threw three touchdowns and looked very good doing it in the loss.

He did throw one interception but it was only on a terrific play by Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy. Palmer was on target most of the afternoon in Charlotte, going 35-46.

Palmer’s passes looked sharp. He threaded the needle. There is the argument to be made it might have been his best personal day behind center as an Arizona Cardinals quarterback.

Look for that to continue on Sunday. Palmer will throw at least two touchdowns. He may get more but with Johnson on the ground and the Cardinals defense getting into the act, there is only so much to go around in a 60-minute game.

Palmer missed the 49ers the first time around and didn’t play particularly well against the 49ers in the second game last season. He will be ready to sock it to the 49ers on Sunday.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes (55) tries to tackle San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) in the end zone during the second half at New Era Field. Buffalo beat San Francisco 45-16. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Colin Kaepernick not making any friends

Much has been made of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling antics before each game this season. Whether you agree with him or not and I do not, he has the right.

That doesn’t mean opposing players agree with it either. Kaepernick is also likely to get a lot of boos from the crowd on Sunday. The big news this week on him was that he didn’t vote. For a guy who wanted to see change, he failed to voice his opinion in the one spot he could help direct change.

If you combine that with his scrambling ability, look for Kaepernick to get roughed up a bit. The Cardinals would never go out an intentionally cause injury or try to hurt anyone. They would never attempt to draw a penalty that could hurt them.

However in the heat of the moment, with a poor 49ers offensive line, and with a tenacious defense out looking to get back on track after a poor performance in Carolina, the Cardinals may end up being a little too over-hyped. The Cardinals are likely to draw some personal foul penalties.

To be fair, this is a prediction I would make regardless of who the 49ers opponent was on Sunday. This is more about the 49ers style of play and the way they’ve been performing. Hopefully though, the Cardinals are smart about things though and they draw no penalties for personal foul on Sunday.

October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter at Levi

The Cardinals will win

The Cardinals should be able to come away with the victory on Sunday. Take away all the injuries and all the issues the Cardinals have had scoring early. They simply are the better team on paper and on the field.

How quickly the fortunes have changed for both teams. Just four years ago it was completely turned around. The Cardinals have stumped through the first half of their season though.

Now is time for a fresh start. They have fresh legs and renewed energy. There are no excuses if the Cardinals can’t come out and dominate the 49ers on Sunday.

If the Cardinals can’t defeat the 49ers Sunday afternoon, then there is no need to worry how the remaining seven weeks will transpire. You can forget any postseason talk even though they still wouldn’t be close to being mathematically eliminated from contention.

So on Sunday afternoon, look for the Cardinals to pull out a 37-14 victory. A win puts the Cardinals a 4-4-1 heading out on a difficult road in Minnesota and Atlanta over the next two weeks.