49ers Cardinals Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The San Francisco 49ers have already clinched their division. Now, they’ll be looking to secure a first-round bye in the NFC with a strong finish. They hit the road in Week 14 to take on the pesky Arizona Cardinals. Despite being all but eliminated from the playoffs, the Cardinals continue to battle. They’ll be trying to put an end to a five-game losing streak to the 49ers in this series. San Francisco won the first meeting 23-7 at home back on November 20th. Alex Smith threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 49ers to victory.

Odds makers have set a spread of San Francisco -3.5 over Arizona and a total of 39.5 points for the rematch Sunday.

San Francisco

The 49ers have been the biggest surprise in the league to this point. San Francisco (10-2, 5-1 away) was a popular choice to win the NFC West coming into the season, but nobody saw them being this dominant in doing so. Their 10 wins have come by an average of 14.0 points/game, and their two losses were close. They were beaten 27-24 in overtime by the Dallas Cowboys, and they let a tie game in the fourth quarter slip away in a 16-6 loss at Baltimore.

San Francisco is coming off a 26-0 beat down of the St. Louis Rams last Sunday. It was their first shutout of the season, thought they have come close on a number of occasions. It wasn’t all good news for the 49ers, who lost middle linebacker and team leader Patrick Willis to a hamstring injury in the first quarter. Smith threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns, while Frank Gore rushed for 73 yards on 21 carries. Their defense limited the Rams to just 157 total yards while forcing two turnovers.

The 49ers rank just 24th in the league in total offense (315.3 yards/game), but they are an impressive 4th in total defense (303.4 yards/game). They give up a league-low 71.8 yards/game on the ground will winning the line of scrimmage game in and game out. Willis is listed as doubtful as of this writing, and the 49ers will need him back soon if they want to make a run in the playoffs. Smith is having the best year of his career while completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,390 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. Gore ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing with 982 yards and five scores.

Arizona

The Cardinals are playing their best football of the season right now. Arizona (5-7, 3-2 home) has won four of their last five games overall despite being an underdog in all five contests. Their lone loss during this stretch came to these same 49ers. The Cardinals are still mathematically alive for the playoffs, but it would take an unbeaten finish for them to even have a chance most likely. They are coming off a 19-13 overtime win at home over the Dallas Cowboys, improving to 2-0 in overtime games this season.

Dallas appeared to have won the game when Dan Bailey’s 49-yard field goal sailed through the uprights for what would have been the game-winner at the end of regulation. The play clock was winding down, so head coach Jason Garrett called a timeout to make sure it wouldn’t get pushed back any further. Bailey would miss the attempt that counted, sending the game to overtime. From there, LaRod Stephens-Howling caught a short pass from Kevin Kolb and raced 52 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Kolb finished with 247 passing yards with a touchdown, while Beanie Wells rushed for 67 yards and a score to lead the way for the Cardinals.

Arizona ranks 23rd in the NFL in total offense (316.7 yards/game) and 25th in total defense (370.5 yards/game). It has been a rough season for Kolb, who recently returned from injury. After a strong performance against the Cowboys, he has a chance to redeem himself down the stretch. Kolb is completing 57.5 percent of his passes for 1,953 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. Wells has had a breakthrough year, rushing for 916 yards and nine scores while finally being able to stay healthy. Larry Fitzgerald leads the team in receiving with 55 catches for 943 yards and six touchdowns.

Betting Trends

The 49ers are 10-1-1 ATS in all games this season, and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a favorite. However, San Francisco is just 7-23-4 ATS in their last 34 games following a SU win of more than 14 points.

The Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall, and 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 games as a home underdog of 3.5-10.0 points.

The 49ers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 meetings with the Cardinals, and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 meetings in Arizona.

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