49ers at Cardinals

There has been very little movement on this line. The 49ers opened as 1-point road favorites in most locations, while a few sportsbooks have raised the line to -1.5. The public is leaning slightly towards the road team with 54 percent of the Covers.com consensus favoring San Francisco.

The over/under line opened at 39 total points and has gone up to 40 and 40.5 in most locations. This isn’t a surprise as 60 percent of the public is favoring the over according to the Covers.com consensus.

The weather will be clear but the temperatures will be a bit colder than expected for Arizona with a low of 36 degrees in the forecast on Monday night.

Injury Report

San Francisco’s star tight end Vernon Davis left the game last week versus Tampa Bay with an injured ankle, but he is expected to play this week. Davis leads the team with 516 receiving yards this season and is averaging 13.6 yards per catch. Wide receiver Josh Morgan is also probable to play, despite battling a shoulder injury. Morgan is fourth on the team with 384 receiving yards this season and leads the team with 14.8 yards per catch.

The 49ers will likely be without kicker Joe Nedney who missed last week’s game due to a knee injury and is doubtful this week. Offensive tackle Adam Snyder remains questionable with a shoulder injury, while defensive back William James is doubtful due to a concussion.

Arizona has some injury concerns on defense as linebacker Clark Haggans, defensive end Calais Campbell, and cornerback Gregory Toler are all listed as questionable, while defensive back Michael Adams is probable and is expected to play.

Non-Offensive Touchdowns

Arizona’s offense has been terrible this season. The Cardinals are averaging only 19 points per game on 275 yards of total offense per game. But they have scored 24 points or more in four of their 10 games because they are scoring a bunch of non-offensive touchdowns.

The Cardinals have eight return touchdowns this season thanks in large part to LaRod Stephens-Howling, who’s taken two kickoffs back to the house. Arizona’s defense has six of those touchdowns, including two interception returns from safety Kerry Rhodes.

While their defense is scoring points, the Cards are also allowing the most points per game in the NFL. Arizona comes into this game allowing 29 points per game on 398 yards of total offense.

Five of its 10 opponents have scored 31 points or more, including two teams (Falcons and Chargers) scoring 41 points apiece.

The Cards have allowed 19 pass plays of at least 30 yards or more which ties them for the most in the league. They’ve also allowed 12 rushing plays of at least 20 yards or more which ties them for the second-highest total in the league.

”It’s mental mistakes as much as anything,” head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We’re having our issues with missed tackles, but when you line up wrong or play the defense wrong, when you drop coverage on a guy you're suppose to have, those are all culprits for our defense’s problems right now.”

Don’t Blame Me

The 49ers were shutout at home last week by Tampa Bay. It was San Francisco’s first offensive shutout in 33 years (1977) and nobody seems to want to take the blame.

Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson says it wasn’t his fault: “I’ll sit here and say I thought the game plan was good,” he said. “But we didn’t execute it well.”

Head coach Mike Singletary wasn’t running from the blame though.

“Just understand, in terms of whose fault was it for this, whose fault it was for that, it is all on me,” Singletary said. “If you have any questions about that, just before you even ask the question, just put ‘the head coach’ and that will be acceptable.”

If San Francisco doesn’t score points on the pathetic Arizona defense, then it’ll need to make some major changes. Arizona hasn’t been able to stop any offense this year, so the 49ers should come out and be aggressive in this game from the opening kickoff.

A pair of 3-7 teams go head-to-head Monday night as the Arizona Cardinals host the San Francisco 49ers. Arizona is set as a 1-point underdog with the total at 40 points.

Offense:

San Francisco’s offense ranks 25th producing just under 314 yards per game while scoring 16 points an outing. The 49ers have cracked the 20-point plateau only twice over their last six games, but quarterback Troy Smith is completing almost 58 percent of his passes while averaging nine yards per attempt.

Arizona’s total offense checks in at 31st in the league, averaging about 275 yards per contest. Veteran running back Tim Hightower leads the team with only 438 rushing yards as the club manages 84 yards on the ground per game. The passing offense isn’t much better producing 191 yards per outing.

Edge: 49ers

Defense:

Arizona gives up a league-high 29.2 points per game with a rushing defense that ranks 28th in the league and a passing defense that sits 27th. The Cardinals have 20 sacks and 10 interceptions this season. Last week the Kansas City Chiefs ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns in downing Arizona 31-13.

San Francisco sits 13th in total defense giving up 328 yards per game while allowing almost 22 points an outing. However only one team has scored 30 points against the 49ers this season – Kansas City dropped them 31-10 in Week 3.

Edge: 49ers

Special teams:

San Francisco kicker Joe Nedney is expected to miss the game with a knee injury so Shane Andrus should handle the kicks. Nedney had hit 11 of his 13 attempts this season while Andrus has yet to attempt a kick. The 49ers average 21.4 yards on kickoff returns and 7.9 yards on punts. San Francisco’s punting ranks seventh in the league.

Backed by Jay Feely’s leg, the Cardinals sit second in the league converting almost 92 percent of their field goal attempts with just one miss on the season. Arizona averages 25.9 yards per kickoff return, but only 6.4 yards on punt returns.

Edge: Cardinals

Word on the street:

"Troy was coming off two wins, and you want to ride that. This is the game where we have to take a step back and look at how he responds during this game and how he does. We'll see how it goes. But I have to make sure that if we have Troy – and he's done some good things – and make sure that I fully exhaust that." – 49ers coach Mike Singletary on QB Troy Smith.

"When you're looking at the Cardinals, and the way they've been built, the one thing you want is a guy who can make the throws downfield, who can accurately put the ball in that 15- to 30-yard range. The best players in this league at that position - Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers - those guys are making chunk plays consistently. And in this day and age in the NFL, especially with the playmakers the Cardinals have, is something they have to find." – Former Cardinals quarterback and NFL analyst Kurt Warner on Arizona’s QB situation.

Final score prediction:

San Francisco 17, Arizona 10