4 reasons why SF 49ers have no chance vs. Cardinals in Week 16
By Peter Panacy
The SF 49ers face off in what seems like a daunting task against the Cardinals in Week 16, and the honest admission is the Niners likely lose.
Amazon Prime Video. 8-6. Cardinals -5. 42. 32. 4:30 p.m. ET. 5-9. Saturday, Dec. 26
Not to be a “Negative Nancy” here, but the SF 49ers don’t have a chance at pulling off a win over their NFC West division rivals, the Arizona Cardinals, in Week 16.
Ironically enough, the Niners don’t have to move their “home” facilities away from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. But they will be the road team against the current No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Home-field advantage won’t matter much, however, and it doesn’t appear the odds makers feel comfortable with a San Francisco upset anyway with The Action Network listing the SF 49ers as 5.5-point underdogs.
And what’s been tough for Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan only gets tougher this week.
Quarterback Nick Mullens, who has started the last six games, will be out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury suffered in San Francisco’s Week 15 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
For those fans clamoring to see No. 3 quarterback C.J. Beathard get a shot, here’s your chance.
That alone might be reason why the SF 49ers don’t have much of a shot at all versus Arizona.
No. 4: C.J. Beathard is a downgrade for SF 49ers offense
There’s a reason why Shanahan stuck with Mullens despite him tossing at least one interception in each of the last six games.
Mullens is much faster processing defenses and open receivers. While he’s not exactly protective of the ball and has plenty of accuracy questions of his own, Mullens frequently makes much better reads.
Speaking of accuracy, Mullens is better than Beathard in that department, too, owning a 64.5 career completion percentage compared to the latter’s career mark of 57.8.
About the only bonus Beathard has over Mullens is a stronger arm, so that could be an X-factor that works in the Niners’ favor.
But going against a Cardinals defense allowing just 5.8 yards per pass attempt — sixth best in the NFL entering Week 16 — it’s going to be awfully tough for San Francisco to move the ball through the air.