Cardinals vs. 49ers Preview and Free Picks

We are about to enter the 18th week of the NFL regular season, and we had no Thursday Night Football clash, with things starting on Saturday and being mostly set for Sunday games.

We are focusing right on the middle of the day, with a clash that will be hosted by the Cardinals, a team that is on its way out to rest, as their seven wins and nine losses record was not enough to get them a playoff spot, and they are 3rd in the NFC West.

The opposing team will be the 49ers, who come as the 4th place in the NFC West and are on a campaign of six wins and ten losses, also unable to land a spot in the playoffs after reaching the Super Bowl.

Why bet on the Cardinals?

The Cardinals have pretty much been as good as advertised, as the team was not expected to be a world-beater this season, but even though the performances were “on par” for the bunch, that hasn’t been the case for their first-round rookie receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison was lauded as a generational talent, but his rookie campaign has been underwhelming. He’s yet to eclipse 60 receptions and has been a second thought in the Cardinals’ offense behind Trey McBride and James Conner.

Their last game ended in a quiet loss against the Rams, which handed their rivals the division lead. There were no points scored by any team in the first quarter, and the only TD for Arizona came from McBride after a pass from Kyler Murray. The QB completed more than 30 passes and got 321 passing yards, but only made one assist and suffered two interceptions.

Why bet on the 49ers?

The San Francisco 49ers were expected to compete for a Super Bowl spot once again when the season began, but it seems like they never managed to get over the post-Superbowl hangover after losing against the Chiefs again last year. Now, they trot into the final week of the regular season with a measly six wins.

The team has pretty much nothing to play for, and the only thing they have going for them this season is their solid roster but we need to see if they will be motivated in this last match or if they thrown the towel weeks ago.

Their last game was a disputed 34-40 defeat against a solid team of the Lions. They were leading 21-13 at half-time. However, a Sam LaPorta TD started a wave by Detroit that included three TDs in the last two quarters. Even with his three TD passes, Brock Purdy was key in his team’s defeat with two interceptions. We must also highlight Rick Pearsall, who with eight receptions, one TD, and almost 150 receiving yards, was the shining light in the SF offense.

Final Betting Analysis: Cardinals vs. 49ers

The 49ers lead the series 6-4 in the last ten games. However, their last match ended in a 23-24 victory for the Cardinals on October 6, 2024.

This is one of those games that we could see going either way; neither team has anything to play for and both have been underwhelming at times.

However, we must point out that San Francisco’s turn from falling short of the Super Bowl to completely missing the playoffs has been a bad sight to see in the Bay Area.

In the end, we believe that Arizona adds more to their misery to ensure the 49ers finish last in the division. We’ll go for the UNDER.

We’ll go for a win for the locals at 1.5. If you bet $100 at such odds, you could get $50 for a total payout of $150.

Cardinals vs. 49ers Betting Pick: Arizona Cardinals

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