The San Francisco 49ers had a crazy, ridiculous offseason, and followed it up with a dominant win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. But they've fallen back to Earth quickly after being dominated from start to finish against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. They'll need to figure out what went wrong there and how they can repeat Week 1 if they're to beat the tough NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals in Week 3.
49ers vs. Cardinals 2015 picks and predictions: Few experts going with San Francisco in Week 3
The Arizona Cardinals are 2-0 and few experts think there’s any chance they suffer their first loss against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Arizona is actually atop the division, one of the toughest in the league over the last few seasons, after winning both of its opening games. The Seattle Seahawks, who have been atop the division over the last couple of years, have started the year 0-2 and the Cardinals would love an early leg-up on the competition with a 3-0 start.
That said, it's nearly impossible to predict what exactly will happen when these two teams play. They have combined for exciting, close games even when neither team is particularly relevant in a given season. Colin Kaepernick and Carlos Hyde seem a decent test for a tough Arizona defense, while pass rushers Aaron Lynch and Ahmad Brooks will try to get to Carson Palmer and make him uncomfortable.
Whether either will find success in their efforts is anybody’s guess. The Cardinals have done an excellent job keeping Palmer protected thus far, which is important given this was their biggest assignment this season. They won every game Palmer started last season, but when he went down with injury the wheels fell off and the Cardinals were ineffective in the postseason.
As far as expert picks go, there are very few takers when it comes to the 49ers. All eight of the experts picking for CBS Sports are going with Arizona, while at ESPN just one of the 13 experts is leaning towards San Francisco.
Here at SB Nation, only one of the experts picking went with the 49ers -- David Fucillo. The rest, including the OddsShark computer, are picking Arizona to win the game.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark Computer | |
| SF @ ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | SF | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ | ARZ |
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