49ers vs. Cardinals: San Francisco hosts Arizona in must-win game
By Chris Wilson
The San Francisco 49ers host the winless Arizona Cardinals in the Niners’ second home game of the 2018 NFL regular season. Niner Noise previews the 49ers’ Week 5 matchup, including key stats, players to watch, X-factors, injury news and how to watch the game live.
After suffering their second straight road loss to an AFC West foe, the San Francisco 49ers travel back to Levi’s Stadium for their first divisional game of the season — a Week 5 showdown with the 0-4 Arizona Cardinals, led by rookie quarterback Josh Rosen.
Check out Niner Noise’s game recap and post-game grades and analysis for a breakdown of the 49ers’ Week 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, including highlights of the game and full position grades.
On Sunday, both the 49ers and Cardinals will feature quarterbacks starting their second game of the 2018 NFL regular season.
C.J. Beathard will again start under center for San Francisco, as the team lost starter Jimmy Garoppolo for the remainder of the season when the 49ers’ franchise QB tore his ACL in Week 3. Arizona’s starting quarterback will be Rosen, who replaced veteran QB Sam Bradford in the closing minutes of the Cardinals’ Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Last Sunday, the 49ers jumped out to a 14-point lead over the Los Angeles Chargers, but allowed the home team to tie the game before halftime. In the final minutes of the third quarter, San Francisco was forced to fight back from a two-score deficit. Beathard led the team on two consecutive scoring drives, but a fourth quarter field goal by kicker Caleb Sturgis gave the Chargers the 29-27 win.
After failing to lead his team into scoring range on the final two drives of the Cardinals’ two-point loss to the Bears in Week 3, Rosen was still given his first career start in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft played well enough for Arizona to win, but after a missed field goal by Cardinals kicker Phil Dawson, followed by a last-second 52-yard field goal by Seattle kicker Sebastian Janikowski, the Seahawks left Arizona with a 20-17 victory.
Rosen made major strides between his first NFL appearance and last week’s start. With added confidence and another week of practice under his belt, the rookie could prove to be a worthy adversary in this must-win game for the one-win 49ers, who began the season with playoff aspirations.
Per OddsShark, the 49ers are favored in Sunday’s matchup by three points, after the line fluctuated between three and four points over the course of the week.
Let’s break down some important statistics for the San Francisco 49ers’ second home game of the 2018 NFL regular season: