49ers vs. Cardinals: Previewing Week 10 for San Francisco
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals in a Week 10 NFC West showdown. Niner Noise breaks down this divisional contest and asks whether or not the red and gold stand the slightest of chances.
Should anyone realistically expect the 1-7 San Francisco 49ers to stand a chance against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10?
You’re weird/unrealistic if you do.
But things have been weird in the NFL all season long. Who would have guessed Arizona, a team in the NFC Championship game last year, would be 3-4-1 this deep into 2016? Still, it’s more than safe to assume the Niners will come away on the wrong side of the win column.
The last time these two teams met was in Week 5 on Thursday Night Football. The Cardinals trounced the 49ers 33-21 using a backup quarterback, Drew Stanton, and enjoyed running back David Johnson’s 157-yard rushing performance.
We know San Francisco can’t stop the run. And with Arizona now at home, any shot of a Niners victory is about as remote a possibility there is.
If he hasn’t already, head coach Chip Kelly may want to start eyeing players for next season (assuming he’s still here) and treat this game — and subsequent ones — as an elongated preseason before 2017.
This might happen. It might not. Who knows? But let’s break down what we do know and try to speculate what the difference-makers will be.