Special Preview, NFL Week Five
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
49ers: It was truly a tale of two halves in week four. In the first half, they looked dominant and appeared to be turning the page from the tough loss against the Packers the week before. However, I’ll say this though. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in them entering week four and there’s one reason for that. The secondary. Let me explain. If Aaron Rodgers tore apart the 49ers defensive backfield, what made you think Russell Wilson wouldn’t do the same thing? Once the second half hit, they looked like a completely different team. The offense struggled to generate any type of production. Then, Jimmy Garoppolo gets hurt and in comes Trey Lance. Yes, he connected with Deebo Samuel on a deep touchdown pass, but other than that, that was it. When he came in, San Fran was able to only produce one first down at one point. Once again, the injuries are decimating the 49ers. They lost Jason Verrett to a torn ACL, Raheem Mostert is out for the year with a knee injury and he’s arguably their best running back with healthy and now, Jimmy G is out for a few weeks with a calf injury. With number 10 being sidelined, you know what that means?! Trey Lance is now the starting quarterback! He makes his first start against one of the surprise teams in the league on Sunday.
Cardinals: I can admit I’m beginning to gravitate to them some more. Sometimes, there are teams I need to see more from. After their shocking win against the Tennessee Titans in week one, I saw them come back down to reality in the second week against the Vikings and they even struggled against Jacksonville in week three. Week four though was a much different story. In the first four games, this is by far their best win of the season! How exactly were they able to beat up the Los Angeles Rams? Simple! I saw a balanced attack offensively. Lots of handoffs to James Connor which in return opened up the passing game, they ran RPO, Kyler was mobile, and the play calling couldn’t be any more perfect. The defense also added to the fun. The Cardinals threw continuous amounts of pressure at Matthew Stafford and the secondary came in with the mentality of keeping everything underneath. In other words, you’re not just going to pick us apart by throwing the ball down the field, if you want those big yards, you’re going to need to earn it. This was the game where I saw Kliff Kingsbury mature as a head coach. This was as complete of a win as they come and a performance like this can give you confidence moving forward. They return home for a divisional showdown on Sunday.
49ers X-Factor: Arik Armstead– He is one of the key pieces of the 49ers defensive front. Along with Nick Bosa, they make up one of the best pass rushing tandems in the NFL. At 6’7, Arik uses his length to his full advantage. He uses those long arms of his to swim through blockers. Outside of his pass rushing, I’ve always admired the motor he plays with. Arik could be on one end of the field and wherever the ball is, he’s using those long strides to get to the ballcarrier.
Cardinals X-Factor: Rondale Moore– I was a fan of his during his college days at Purdue. With the Cardinals, he gives Kyler another weapon down the field. Rondale brings versatility to the Arizona offense. When they motion him, he’s running the screen play or they use him in the jet sweep to incorporate him in the running game. He has game changing speed and I’m impressed with his ability to cut in space.
Final Thoughts: This is a huge game in the entertaining NFC West. Trey Lance is making his first start! (Hence the title). Who would’ve thought going into week five that the Arizona Cardinals would be the only undefeated team remaining in the NFC altogether? The key for San Francisco is pressure. I’m making Kyler Murray a pocket passer and daring him to beat me with pocket presence. He can move either to his left or right and when he does, he’s lethal. I’ll be curious to watch Arizona’s game plan against Trey. They’ll force the 49ers to get theirs all underneath, just how they did against the Rams. Look for Isaiah Simmons to line up against George Kittle.
Prediction: Cardinals 27, 49ers 21
