49ers will beat Cardinals if they win these matchups on Monday
By Peter Panacy
49ers vs. Cardinals matchup No. 1: George Kittle vs. Budda Baker
This sure feels like a yearly matchup to watch ever since these two teams get together: tight end George Kittle against safety Budda Baker, a personal rivalry that stretches back to 2019 when Kittle got the best of Baker on a primetime Halloween game amid San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl.
Kittle is having a down year, statistically, and there’s no getting around that. To date, the All-Pro has just 29 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns beyond the halfway point of the season, and he’s also coming off a Week 10 game in which he had just one catch for 21 yards.
That’s it.
Still, Kittle’s prowess is ever-present, and Baker will likely be the primary Cardinals defender responsible for covering Kittle and preventing him from impacting the stat sheet on Monday night.
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This does, however, provide some service to the rest of the 49ers offense. By taking Baker out of the picture, Kittle effectively opens things up for weapons like Christian McCaffrey or even wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
In fact, that might be Kittle’s best role now, serving as a decoy to help out his fellow teammates.
Both he and the Niners will take that result if it means San Francisco wins its Week 11 Monday Night Football matchup from Mexico City.
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