The Arizona Cardinals are 8-2, first place in the NFC West and gunning for a first-round bye in the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers are just counting down the days until their nightmare season ends.
Cardinals vs. 49ers 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Will the 49ers get anything positive from this game?
On paper, these teams could not be more mismatched. Arizona’s offense is ninth in rushing yards, fourth in passing yards and top of the league in points scored per game. San Francisco’s defense is 26th in rushing, 27th in passing and allowing 25.2 points per game, 23rd in the league. The Cardinals are fresh off a 34-31 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, while the 49ers got stomped by the Seattle Seahawks, 29-13.
This game is also a mismatch in Vegas. According to OddsShark, the Cardinals are favored by 11.5 points, by far the biggest line of Week 12.
But you don’t have to look at the numbers or Vegas lines to see how lopsided this game could get -- just look at the last time they played in Week 3. The Cardinals pasted the 49ers, 47-7, in a game that still wasn’t as close as it looked on the scoreboard. Colin Kaepernick threw two pick-sixes, Chris Johnson ran for two touchdowns and Larry Fitzgerald caught two more. The score was 28-0 halfway through the second quarter. It will go down as one of the biggest laughers of the 2015 season.
Carson Palmer continues to play at an elite level in his later years. Through 10 games, the 35-year-old has thrown for 3,066 yards, 27 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He leads the league with a 108.6 QB rating and 9.0 yards per pass attempt. That he’s producing these numbers with John Brown and Michael Floyd suffering nagging injuries is all the more impressive. Tom Brady and Cam Newton are currently getting all the MVP talk, but Palmer belongs right up there with the top contenders.
Since that Week 3 shellacking, the 49ers made one major change, naming Blaine Gabbert the new starting quarterback and putting Kaepernick on injured reserve after shoulder surgery. To his credit, Gabbert has actually been playing some decent football, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns in the two games he’s started. The 49ers managed to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 and things might have started to look up before last week’s dud in Seattle.
Once again the 49ers will be without Carlos Hyde, who is dealing with a stress fracture in his foot and could end up missing the rest of the year. Shaun Draughn is expected to get the start this week after putting up 77 total yards against the Seahawks.
At 3-7, the 49ers don’t have much to play for other than draft position, and the Cardinals will want to put as much distance as possible between them and the Seahawks (5-5) in the division. Don’t expect Bruce Arians to take his foot off the gas pedal, even if (when?) the game gets out of hand early.
How to watch
When: 4:05 p.m. ET
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Chris Myers, Ronde Barber, Jennifer Hale
Online: NFL Game Pass
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