Who: San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals

When: Monday, November 21st, 2022, 8:15pm ET

Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ

Spread: San Francisco -10

Total: 42.5 o/u

The San Francisco 49ers (5-4) will look to jump into first place in the NFC West with a win tonight against the division-rival Arizona Cardinals (4-6). Since they acquired versatile RB Christian McCaffrey, the Niners have turned their season around, winning two out of the three contests he has played in. QB Jimmy Garoppolo continues to serve as the primary game manager under center, and contributions on offense from Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk have rocketed the Niners past the Chargers and Rams in their mini-win streak. The return of Pro Bowl LT Trent Williams is perhaps the most essential addition to the offense. There’s a noticeable difference in how the offense, particularly Jimmy G, performs when Williams is in the lineup as opposed to not.

For the Cardinals, this season has been an array of turmoil. First, DeAndre Hopkins served a six-game suspension following a failed performance-enhancing drug test, then offseason acquisition Marquise Brown suffered a foot injury that nearly ended his season. While Brown has a chance to return to the field tonight, QB Kyler Murray will miss his second consecutive game. That means journeyman QB Colt McCoy will fill in under center. In his spot start last week, McCoy was effective, throwing for 238 yards and a touchdown. Still, it is one thing to go up against a struggling Rams team and another against a 49ers defense that ranks No. 1 in the league in the least amount of total offensive yards allowed.

I’ve admired McCoy since his collegiate days as a Texas Longhorn, but I’m backing the 49ers in this one despite the double-digit point spread. I usually always back the home underdog in divisional matchups in primetime such as this contest. Still, I believe the 49ers’ defense will pounce at McCoy and limit his effectiveness in the pocket. McCaffrey should be able to run all over the Cardinals’ defense, especially since they rank in the bottom third in the league in total yards allowed per game.

For the total, I am going to take the under on this one as well. The 49ers’ defense should be able to keep the opposing scoring low while the offense will put up enough points on the board to cover but not necessarily blow out their opponent. Prediction, 49ers 20, Cardinals 9.

Pick: 49ers -10

Under 42.5