Cardinals vs. 49ers: Week 5 NFL Picks and Predictions

Arizona Cardinals (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS) vs. San Francisco 49ers (2-2 SU, 2-2 ATS)
NFL Football Week 5
Date/Time: Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 4:05PM EDT
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
TV: Fox

The Arizona Cardinals take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in an NFC West battle from Levi’s Stadium. Both teams will be angling hard for a win this week. The Cardinals, at 1-3, are looking to get back on the right track after losing their second in a row, both at home. On Sunday, they fell to the Commanders in a lopsided 42-14 loss. They now take to the road in this familiar divisional pairing against San Francisco, looking to turn the corner at 2-2 after evening their mark last week in a 30-13 win over New England. Who should we back in this Sunday divisional face-off on Sunday?

Are the 49ers Back on Track?

After dropping two of their first three games, both on the road, to the Vikings and Rams, things were looking bad for the Niners. But in addition to being on the road and a tough matchup against the Vikings, injuries have to be factored in, as they kept losing pieces. First, it was Christian McCaffrey, then Deebo Samuel, and then George Kittle. And soon, an offense with an embarrassment of riches was looking a bit ragged. But between the standout fill-in work from running back Jordan Mason and the return into the rotation of Samuel and Kittle, things look to be snapping back into form for the defending conference champions. It’s not that a lopsided win and cover over the Patriots is confirmation, but I’d expect a better version of the 49ers than what we saw in the first three weeks of the season.

Can the Cardinals Make it Work This Week?

It’s perhaps unfortunate for Arizona to be running into the 49ers now instead of a few weeks ago when the Rams were able to beat the Niners, the same Rams team Arizona crushed 41-10 in their only win of the season. That followed a one-score loss on the road to the Bills, as the Cardinals looked pretty good through two games. Murray was showing some new life in his legs and arm, Marvin Harrison, Jr. was showing his teeth, James Conner was making plays, and things looked pretty good. And while the offense has shown flashes the last two weeks, they’ve become inconsistent and handcuffed by what’s happening on the other side of the ball, which is even more concerning. It seemed to really hit a wall against the Commanders. What we have with Arizona is a team that is dangerous and plays with a wide range of form. In a given week, things can click, and they can beat anyone. But banking on it to happen is a totally different proposition. And other than a sneaking suspicion that they’re due for a good game, it’s hard to identify what Cardinals team you’re going to be getting week-to-week.

Good Spot for San Francisco?

One can picture the angle a potential Arizona backer will be taking this week—that the Cardinals aren’t as bad as they’ve been made to look the last few weeks and could be a thorn in the sides of a 49ers team that hasn’t fully found its stride yet. And granted, Murray is a weapon. With Conner, Trey McBride (questionable), Harrison, and a deep supporting aerial cast, you can’t always expect that combo to not hit. I’d be more concerned about the other side of the ball after a season-worst showing where Washington was marching up and down the field, mostly unabated.

Having a San Francisco offense that is starting to fill in the gaps and assume more of its original form is a difficult proposition for a Cardinals’ defense that is neither stout nor capable of making a sequence of big plays to appreciably reverse the flow of a game. Brock Purdy’s options are numerous and should run this Cardinals’ defense ragged—Mason, Kittle, Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings are guys that would be featured in most offensive units. Having all of them in the same offense is a lot to handle, especially for teams who really don’t have their act together defensively. When watching Arizona, you sometimes get the feeling that on defense, it’s standout safety Budda Baker and just ten guys.

Food for Thought

There’s a chaotic element to this game, and it’s mostly with the Cardinals. I feel that despite their last two games, they still are out there trying hard. Some weeks, it doesn’t work out. But they’ve made a mockery of the point spread in both directions already this season. They can surprise you in both ways—good and bad. But at 1-3, I’d imagine they’d be pulling out some stops this week, as 2-3 is a lot more hopeful than 1-4. A San Francisco backer has a right to be licking his chops this week at the thought of going against this defense, in addition to what the SF defense can do to this Arizona defense. And most memories of this matchup over the last few years have seen that script play out, as Brock Purdy knows nothing else but smashing the Cardinals, with their cumulative score over the past two seasons being 156-68 in favor of the Niners.

Lay the Number

A stance on Arizona isn’t that hard to justify, and I frankly don’t even dislike it that much. San Fran is slow out of the gates, and the Cardinals really need this. I just think they’re running into a Niners team where certain things like urgency and better health are converging in such a way to make betting against them a bit dangerous this week. I see the Niners starting to get the better of the Cardinals in the second half as they pull away a little bit for the win and cover at home. I’ll take the 49ers.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on the San Francisco 49ers minus 7 points.