The Arizona Cardinals are on the road this weekend to take on the San Francisco 49ers Sunday afternoon. It is their first divisional game of the season and perhaps their toughest opponent to date as San Francisco is 3-0, has scored 30 points in each one of their games this season and has allowed only 14 points per game.
As we do mostly every week, we go “behind enemy lines” with a writer who covers the Cardinals’ opponent.
Buy Cardinals TicketsThis week, it is Niners Wire managing editor Kyle Madson, who gives us some insight into the 49ers, the matchup on Sunday and makes his prediction for the game.
My questions and what he had to say are below.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
The 3-0 start
What are the biggest reasons for the 49ers’ 3-0 start?
Part of it has been a relatively soft schedule to open the year, but they’ve been pretty dominant so it’s not just the quality of opponent. Their offense is still a little disjointed at times, it’s just that their playmakers have been able to overcome any hiccups on that side of the ball. It’s been a lot of Christian McCaffrey, plus a big Brandon Aiyuk game in Week 1 and then a big Deebo Samuel game in Week 3 with McCaffrey shouldering most of the load in Week 2. Defensively they’re just good. Javon Hargrave has been a menace at defensive tackle and made life way easier on some of the team’s other defensive linemen. They’ve had to shuffle their secondary a little bit, but for the most part that’s a strong unit that’s come up with interceptions in each game. That’s a long way of saying the 49ers are just really good.
Brock Purdy
How is Brock Purdy this year? Better? The same?
Probably about the same. He’s still erratic with his accuracy at times, but he’s still outstanding on intermediate throws while also creating some plays out of structure. The thing he’s been better at this season is sticking around in the pocket. Last year he left some plays on the field because he was spinning out to his left where it’s really hard to get a throw off. For the most part though he’s the same dude as last year. He has his shortcomings, but he can operate this offense at a high level.
Surprise contributions?
Any surprise contributions from unexpected players so far?
Kicker Jake Moody has been good! The No. 99 overall pick has been nails in the regular season after really struggling in the preseason. Nickel corner Isaiah Oliver had a bad preseason too before stepping in over the last couple weeks to come up with some big plays. Beyond that, it’s been the usual suspects for the 49ers. There just isn’t a ton of room for someone to sneak into an impact role when this group is healthy.
Matchups
Which matchups are you most excited about? Most concerned about?
I’m most concerned about how the 49ers pass rush handles Joshua Dobbs. He’s shown the ability to make some plays with his legs and that’s something San Francisco has struggled with. They did well to keep Giants QB Daniel Jones inside the pocket. They’ll need a similar performance against Dobbs to keep him from extending drives via scramble. I’m also concerned about how right tackle Colton McKivitz and right guard Spencer Burford handle what’s been a really good Cardinals pass rush. The thing I’m excited to watch is Christian McCaffrey vs. Kyzir White. White is having a nice year and there’ll be times they’re matched up one-on-one either in a hole or in a route. I’m also excited to watch Nick Bosa vs. DJ Humphries. Bosa hasn’t had a particularly breakout performance yet and Humphries might be the best LT he’s faced in the first four games.
Prediction
