Cardinals vs. 49ers: Week 11 breakdown, preview for San Francisco
By Peter Panacy
Cardinals vs. 49ers: Week 11 by the Numbers
Arizona has the luxury of being the spoiler down the stretch, and it can toss a proverbial monkey wrench into San Francisco’s playoff plans with a win in Week 11.
The numbers behind the game suggest a total mismatch. Despite their Week 10 loss to Seattle, the 49ers still boast the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, allowing an average of just 14.3 points per game. And while both the Cardinals and Seahawks managed to put up some points against the Niners the last two weeks, particularly through the air, coordinator Robert Saleh’s pass defense still ranks first in yards allowed this season.
On the flip side, the Cardinals enter this bout with the 27th-ranked scoring defense, allowing an average of 31.2 points per game. And Arizona’s defense has allowed the second most yards in the league, too, at 4,125.
Yet San Francisco’s offense, not its defense, will likely be under a lot more scrutiny during this contest, especially considering both the Cardinals and Seahawks made notable attempts to stop the Niners’ rushing attack in consecutive weeks.
In total, the 49ers accumulated a mere 188 combined rush yards over their past two games, averaging 3.3 and 3.2 yards per carry, respectively, in Weeks 9 and 10.
Still, San Francisco owns the No. 2 scoring offense in the league, while Arizona owns the No. 17 scoring offense.
But, for the Niners to maintain some offensive prowess, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will need to have a bounce-back game, too.