A crucial NFC West matchup takes place on Monday Night Football when the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals tangle in Mexico City. With Seattle on its bye the Niners have a chance to pull into a tie for the division lead with a win, which would also be a season-best three straight. The Cards are hopeful Kyler Murray is well enough to play after missing last week’s contest against the Rams, which they won to end a two-game slide. The victory didn’t ease Kliff Kingsbury’s situation with the coach still squarely on the hot seat with his club at 4-6.
The Week 11 Monday Night Football contest between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals will take place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico at 8:15 p.m. ET on November 21, 2022 and will be televised on ESPN.
49ers vs Cardinals Odds
San Francisco 49ers -8 ( -370 )
Arizona Cardinals +8 ( +296 )
Over/Under 43.5
Odds Analysis
The status of Murray is a huge factor on the betting line, especially against a defense as active as San Francisco’s. Having him in the lineup certainly gives the Cards a better chance even though Colt McCoy got the start in last week’s 27-17 upset of the Rams with Arizona a 3.5-point dog. It helped that LA’s Matthew Stafford also sat, but still it was a badly needed win after the Cards dropped two straight and four of five going into that one. For a club that’s just 5-4 on the year the Niners are getting a lot of respect. The line moved to SF -8 but will certainly change if Murray is given the green light. Murray’s status will also play with the total, which settled at 43.5.
San Francisco 49ers
The acquisition of Christian McCaffrey was a boost for the Niners offense. Coupled with the NFL’s best total defense and fourth-best scoring outfit, the Niners have become a sexy pick to win the NFC crown. But it’s hard to trust a team that’s been wildly inconsistent. They lost games to sub-.500 teams Chicago, Denver and Atlanta, and barely got by a depleted Chargers squad last week. Despite getting some key offensive players back in the lineup it was still a boring performance. Deebo Samuel had two catches for 24 yards and ran the ball four times for 27 yards with more than half that coming on a 15-yard scamper.
We expected more and the Niners didn’t deliver. Jimmy Garoppolo was 19 of 28 for 240 yards and they amassed nearly 400 yards of offense while converting 53 percent on third down. Red zone failures were huge with only two TDs on five trips. They Niners are 17th in red zone percentage at 54.8 and worse in goal-to-go situations sitting 25th in the NFL. They’ve also struggled to score against the Cards with no more than 20 points in any of the last four meetings. SF is 1-3 SU and ATS in those games with the UNDER cashing three times.
Arizona Cardinals
I hate to say Kingsbury is coaching for his job, but Kingsbury is coaching for his job. It’s been another disappointing season so far with the Cards at 4-6 SU and 5-5 ATS. They have a chance to put their first winning streak together after knocking off the Rams 27-17 last week behind Colt McCoy, who finished 26 of 37 for 238 yards and a TD. McCoy is ready to go again if needed with Murray feeling “good.” McCoy was banged up too last weekend but less severe. Whoever starts behind center could have another weapon with Marquise Brown’s practice window activated. The club recently got Deandre Hopkins back opening up the passing game.
Most pundits give Arizona a better chance of winning with Murray at QB. However, with Murray on the shelf in the Week 9 meeting last season, McCoy stepped in completing nearly 85 percent of his passes with a touchdown leading the Cards to a 31-17 road win as a 5.5-point dog. That just added to Arizona’s success against the division rival. The Cards won three of the last four games and dating back to the start of the 2015 season they are 11-3 SU and 9-4-1 ATS.
49ers vs Cardinals Prediction
I’m thinking the Niners are overvalued in this matchup. Sure they have a stout defense and the addition of McCaffrey along with Samuel, George Kittle and Elijah Mitchell give Garoppolo a plethora of weapons. The Cards have picked things up offensively over the past few weeks cashing the OVER in four straight games, Murray gives them a better chance to cover or pull the upset by dancing around the defense. In a series that’s been close it’s hard not to back the points.
Prediction: Arizona Cardinals +8 and OVER 43.5
