49ers vs. Cardinals 2013, Week 17: Arizona pushes San Franciso, but Niners win

San Francisco improves to 12-4 and they will be the number five seed in the AFC, and will face the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round.

San Francisco is headed to the playoffs for the third time under Jim Harbaugh in three years. For the Cardinals’ Bruce Arians, he’ll have to wait at least one more year to do that with Arizona, but it was a very valiant effort.

Did Skuta give the gear back to Ellington after the play? Nope. He apparently just kicked the items away. Hey man, those are probably worth good money on the open market!

NFL (with Uffsides: Playoff Preview 12/27)

The only problem with that isn’t just that the 49ers are a great team, but that San Francisco also has something potentially huge on the line, and that’s potentially winning the NFC West for the third year in a row. Their first order of priority: Beat the Cardinals.

Both teams find themselves playing with something big on the line, both need help from another team to get what they want, but both also know that the most important thing of all is to win this game. Here’s a look at Arizona and San Francisco in the season finale.

So, who do the experts think will win?

Here at SB Nation, three of five panelists believe that the Niners will pull out the win in Arizona. It’s similarly close elsewhere, including at CBS Sports, where five of eight experts are choosing the Cardinals to get the win.

Thanks to a 7-1 SU and 6-1-1 ATS run over their last seven games, the Arizona Cardinals are still alive for a playoff spot heading into Week 17.

The Cardinals host the San Francisco 49ers as a 1.5-point home underdog, and will need a win and some help to make the postseason.

The Cardinals average 23.9 points per game while allowing 20 points on defense. The 49ers put up 25.5 points per game, but are giving up only 16.8 points to opposing teams. Arizona is 7-8 with the over/under, though just 3-4 at home. San Francisco is also 7-8 on the season with total points, but are 4-4 on the road. The Cardinals are 5-0-1 in the last six games against the spread, and are 10-4-1 on the season. The 49ers are 9-4-1 against the spread this season.

• NFL Mock Draft: The silver lining to your team’s misery