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The San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals will face off in an NFC West clash at 4:25 p.m. ET Jan. 8 at Levi's Stadium. San Francisco is out to keep their five-game home win streak alive.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but the 49ers ultimately got the result they were hoping for last week with a 37-34 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The overall outcome was to be expected, but Las Vegas made it more of a contest than the oddsmakers had predicted. San Francisco's RB Christian McCaffrey did his thing and rushed for one TD and 121 yards on 19 carries.
Special teams collected 13 points for San Francisco. K Robbie Gould delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
Speaking of close games: it's always hard to lose, and it's even harder to lose by a single point. Just ask Arizona, the unfortunate recipient of a 20-19 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons last week. No one had a standout game offensively for the Cardinals, but TE Trey McBride led the way with one touchdown.
Most of the squad's points came courtesy of special teams, which contributed 13. K Matt Prater delivered a perfect 4-for-4 game. This makes it three perfect games in a row for him.
Arizona is now 4-12 while the 49ers sit at 12-4. The Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention. San Francisco has clinched a playoff berth as the current second seed in the NFC.
This next matchup looks promising for San Francisco, who are favored by a full 14.5 points. They have been consistent moneymakers against the spread when favored (10-5), so they might be worth a quick bet.
A couple defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The 49ers come into the game boasting the fewest rushing yards allowed per game in the NFL at 78.8. Less enviably, Arizona is third worst in the league in touchdowns allowed, with 45 on the season. So the cards are definitely stacked against Arizona.
