49ers schedule: Week 11 vs. Cardinals sets up to be a trap

The 49ers are growing as favorites for their Week 11 NFC West bout against the Cardinals in Mexico City, but are the betting odds suggesting a trap game?

On paper and in terms of the latest betting odds from WynnBET, the San Francisco 49ers are pretty hefty favorites in Week 11 on Monday Night Football against the scuffling and inconsistent Arizona Cardinals.

It’s a road game for the Niners, technically speaking, but the primetime bout with the Red Birds as the “home” team takes place at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, a neutral site and one where the home crowd is likely to show more favor to San Francisco as opposed to Arizona.

The 49ers opened up as seven-point home favorites, yes, but the spread has increased a full point over just two days. Now, the Niners are better than a touchdown favorite over their NFC West rivals.

Sounds good, right?

However, there should be concerns about this divisional bout south of the border turning into a classic trap game for San Francisco.

49ers vs. Cardinals: Week 11 could be a trap game for San Francisco

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has had issues with the Cardinals ever since taking over his job in 2017. Since that point, Arizona has gone 7-3 against the 49ers, including winning three of the last four games and sweeping the 2021 season series.

And even when the Niners last swept the Cardinals back in 2019, both wins were awfully tough, including that gutsy come-from-behind affair at Levi’s Stadium that required now-Miami Dolphins running back Jeff Wilson Jr. to come up with some late-game heroics.

On top of that, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has surprisingly done well with his team when it has been an underdog, as BetSided’s Ben Heisler pointed out:

"The 49ers have a terrific defense, only allowing a robust 4.7 yards/play, allowing no more than 16 points in any of their five wins this season.However, this sets up about as well as it gets for the Kliff Kingsbury wheelhouse. Over his career, via ESPN Stats & Info, Kingsbury is the only coach in the history of the league since the start of the Super Bowl to have an outright winning record as an underdog, and a losing record when his team is favored."

Read More: 49ers vs. Cardinals: How to watch, stream Week 11 game in Mexico City

Much of this might hinge on whether or not quarterback Kyler Murray is cleared from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Cardinals’ Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Still, San Francisco fans might recall how a Colt McCoy-led Arizona squad beat the 49ers a season ago in that early skid Shanahan and Co. would probably rather forget about.

This time around, with the second half of the year now in play, the Niners have to hope no trap game is in play and they’re able to fully dominate their NFC West rivals from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

This divisional bout kicks off on Monday, Nov. 21 at 8:15 p.m. ET from Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico.