It was not supposed to be this hard, but nothing has come easy for the Arizona Cardinals here in 2016.
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Chandler Catanzaro made up for missing a game-winning kick in the Arizona Cardinals’ last game here with a 34-yarder as time expired for a 23-20 win Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers that kept the team in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Kaepernick completed 17 of 30 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown and ran 10 times for 55 yards, including a 4-yard scamper for a touchdown that tied the game with 1:55 to play.
Cardinals RB David Johnson – The 49ers defensive rushing game is, to put it politely, not the best. In just his second season out of Northern Iowa, he leads the National Football League in yards from scrimmage with 1,112 – 705 rushing and 407 receiving – and is on track for more than 2,000 yards. Gabe Martin recovered the fumble, his first and the team’s sixth of the season. The 49ers had been bringing Dorsey back slowly from knee surgery until they pressed him into 46 plays of action last week against New Orleans. Losing 41-23, the home side’s weak defense was once again exposed by the likes of Drew Brees (who was 28 of 39 passes and 323 yards) and Michael Thomas, who helped himself to a pair of touchdowns. Also, Palmer showed his mobility. “Last time we played down there, that was probably the worst game of my career that I can think of”. More than 230 of those yards went to Fitzgerald (12 catches for 133 yards) and Floyd (five for 103).
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Cardinals are 14-point home favorites versus the 49ers while the over/under now sits at 47.5 points. Previously, the Cardinals had only scored one touchdown in the opening quarter – the result of a long touchdown run by Johnson.
The San Francisco 49ers official inactive report is out for their match up against the Cardinals and there aren’t too many surprises here. The teams last met on October 6th with the Cardinals defeating the 49ers 33-21. The San Francisco 49ers now rank 32 in total defense, 32 in run defense, and 11 in pass defense.
The 49ers lost their eighth straight game and are 1-8. It was Johnson’s first touchdown reception of the year. He played around 20 snaps in the game facing the Panthers before the bye.
PREDICTION: Johnson should run all over the 49ers, as many backs have, and the Cardinals should have an easy time getting back to.500. There’s nothing to think about for coach and play-caller Bruce Arians. “It’s exactly what we talked about coming out of the break, we wanted to be 1-0”. They started the season with Blaine Gabbert under center. Arizona boasts the NFL’s top-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed per game and it is second in the National Football League in yards allowed per play.
Even if Johnson goes for more than 100 scrimmage yards, the bar for progress for the Niners is so low that making him work for it with something closer to 4 yards per carry than 5 would be helpful for a Niners defense that could use any sort of improvement to bolster its confidence.
Cardinal inactives: S Tyrann Mathieu, CB Tharold Simon, G Cole Toner, DT Olsen Pierre, DT Robert Nkemdiche, DT Ed Stinson, WR Chris Hubert.
And now begins the hard stretch. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. with pregame coverage beginning four hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
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Here are some things to consider from the Cardinals’ victory.
