49ers vs. Cardinals: Full San Francisco Game Preview
The San Francisco 49ers (1-1) will try to bounce back on the road against the Arizona Cardinals after an embarrassing 43-18 Week 2 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
San Francisco's emphasis for this NFC West matchup will be simple: reestablish the running game while shoring up the defense—both in the pass rush and within the secondary. Pittsburgh exposed problems here to great effect, and the results spoke for themselves.
Arizona (2-0) is coming off a 48-23 drubbing of the Chicago Bears, and quarterback Carson Palmer continues to reveal why the Cardinals have been such a successful team with him under center.
Forcing Palmer off his game will be one of the 49ers' primary objectives unless they want to risk the veteran exposing their secondary much like quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did in Week 2.
A short week won't be an excuse for San Francisco. The 49ers will have to figure out a way to emulate their Week 1 efforts in this critical divisional contest, which could carry significant implications for the layout of the NFC West.
Let's break down San Francisco's Week 3 bout versus Arizona and try to identify the significant elements factoring into Sunday's game.
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Week 2 Results and Recap
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The Week 2 49ers looked more like the team fans were worried about prior to the season than the surprisingly strong squad that impressed in the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
Last Sunday's loss revealed numerous problems within this 49ers franchise. Some elements may be fixed relatively easily. Others remain a significant concern.
One of the primary issues from the 43-18 loss was the lack of pressure on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The savvy veteran has a knack for evading the pass rush, and it was on full display in Week 2. San Francisco's pass-rushers failed to get to Roethlisberger—zero sacks and zero quarterback hits.
As a result, Roethlisberger was able to torch the 49ers' developing secondary for 369 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Antonio Brown hauled in 195 of those yards and one touchdown and made San Francisco's defense look bad in the process.
On the flip side, the 49ers couldn't establish their running game as had been the case in Week 1.
Running back Carlos Hyde had just 43 rushing yards on 13 carries before a leg injury and a hit to the helmet sidelined him for the rest of the game.
The offensive line was more than suspect in an effort that gave up five sacks of quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
San Francisco was trailing 29-3 entering the fourth quarter. The 49ers offense finally got some momentum, despite much of it being in garbage time, during the final frame with Kaepernick hooking up with wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith for the first two passing touchdowns of the season.
Kaepernick's connection with Smith came on a 75-yard deep pass, which was the longest touchdown reception of Smith's career, per the team's website.
It's a good thing to see given how many have waited for San Francisco to implement deep-threat plays on offense.
Still, the effort was beyond lackluster in many areas, which proves this 49ers team is far from perfect under head coach Jim Tomsula.
News and Notes
2 of 6Fixing the Pass Rush
Questions continue to circulate around the 49ers' pass rush after the team elected to part ways with outside linebacker Aldon Smith prior to the regular season. It's a topic discussed in the above B/R video.
San Francisco managed to sack Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater five times in Week 1 but posted a goose egg against the Steelers the subsequent week. And the results were disastrous.
With a young, developing secondary, the 49ers' pass-rushers under defensive coordinator Eric Mangini will have to find ways to generate pressure on Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer in order to take pressure off the pass defense.
Palmer has yet to be sacked this season. So the challenge has been presented to the 49ers' front seven.
Perhaps Mangini will look to utilize more interior rushes and, on occasion, spring edge-rushers like linebacker Aaron Lynch into the mix on a more frequent basis.
Problems in the Secondary
Prior to Week 2, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated, via Eric Branch of SFGate.com, the 49ers secondary had yet to be tested on the young season.
This unit was tested and exposed on Sunday.
San Francisco's defensive backfield consists of a number of first- and second-year players. Cornerbacks Kenneth Acker, Dontae Johnson and Keith Reaser along with safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt will likely struggle during the initial phases of their respective developments. Such is frequently the case with young defensive backs.
"I learned," noted Acker via CSN Bay Area. "That's the best thing about it."
Acker, and the rest of the secondary, was exposed multiple times by wide receiver Antonio Brown and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Now, the test will be matching up against Palmer and talented Cardinals wideouts Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown.
Kaepernick Improving?
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick didn't need to be the offensive star in Week 1. That was reserved for running back Carlos Hyde. But Kaepernick shouldered the 49ers offense as much as he could in Week 2—a 335-yard, two-touchdown effort resulting in a 106.7 passer rating.
Those passing-yard totals marked the third-highest from Kaepernick's career, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
Part of Kaepernick's ongoing development has been the need to progress through his reads and maintain poise within the pocket. This may have been difficult to do given San Francisco's O-line problems in Pittsburgh, but it is an area in which the 49ers' signal-caller is visibly stronger in compared to 2014.
Although not everyone is buying the changes.
Cardinals defensive back Tony Jefferson noted, via Mike Florio of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk (h/t David Fucillo of Niners Nation):
"Well, we're just seeing on third downs, we've been seeing him tuck the ball away and running. Every time it looks like on third down, he's looking at one option and when that option's not open, he's looking to run. So, like I said, we gotta contain him, and try to keep him throwing the ball outside the numbers, because we don't think that's his strength.
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This may, or may not be the case. And two weeks of evidence is probably not enough to suggest Kaepernick is still just a one-read quarterback.
Regardless, look for the Cardinals to try to do exactly what Jefferson stated: force Kaepernick to read his progressions on third downs.
Latest Injury News
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| Player | Position | Injury |
| DeAndre Smelter (NFI) | WR | Knee |
| Daniel Kilgore (IR) | C | Ankle |
| Dres Anderson (IR) | WR | Knee |
| Jerome Simpson | WR | Suspension |
| Bruce Ellington (Questionable) | WR | Ankle |
| Reggie Bush (Questionable) | RB | Calf |
| Vance McDonald (Questionable) | TE | Knee |
| Carlos Hyde (Probable) | RB | Quad |
Running back Reggie Bush remains questionable after suffering a calf injury in Week 1 versus Minnesota. According to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, Bush remains questionable during this week's practice sessions after not traveling with the team to Pittsburgh.
Wide receiver Bruce Ellington, tight end Vance McDonald and running back Carlos Hyde are all expected to practice, per Maiocco.
Hyde suffered two notable injuries in the loss to the Steelers. He was hit by Pittsburgh safety Mike Mitchell in the first half of Sunday's game and suffered a contusion in his leg. Shortly thereafter, Hyde was removed and evaluated for a concussion after sustaining a hit to the helmet.
With Hyde likely returning to action in Week 3, the 49ers will look to fill the void on the running back depth chart.
Bush could not suit up versus the Cardinals, which would open up additional carries for depth backs Jarryd Hayne and Mike Davis.
All injury statuses courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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Key Matchups
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Aaron Lynch vs. Earl Watford
In order for San Francisco's defense to be effective in Arizona, the 49ers will need to generate some sort of pass rush. And second-year linebacker Aaron Lynch will need to be a major part of the equation.
Lining up on the left side of the front seven, Lynch will frequently contend with Cardinals right tackle Earl Watford. Watford has been solid in pass protection this season, per Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910, and Arizona's O-line has yet to allow a sack over two games.
Look for Lynch and the 49ers pass-rushers to try to change that trend in order to get quarterback Carson Palmer out of sync.
49ers Secondary vs. Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown
San Francisco's secondary was exposed in Week 2. This cannot be the case in Week 3 if the 49ers are looking for a victory.
This group of defensive backs will look to contain Cardinals receivers Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown. The tandem has 290 yards on 23 receptions between the two and will try to exploit as many mismatches in San Francisco's secondary as possible.
Stopping this will not only be contingent on the pass rush, but will also require safeties Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea to do a better job providing coverage over the top—an element that was absent for the most part in the 49ers' loss to the Steelers.
Erik Pears vs. Alex Okafor
The right side of San Francisco's O-line was more of a liability in Sunday's loss than a benefit. And right tackle Erik Pears didn't have much of a strong showing here.
Pears was not only flagged for three penalties during the contest but also posted a minus-6.4 grade on the day, per Jeff Deeney of Pro Football Focus. Right guard Jordan Devey also struggled here with a minus-3.2 grade and seven pressures allowed.
Looking to expose this weakness will be Cardinals outside linebacker Alex Okafor. The 24-year-old pass-rusher has two sacks to his credit on the young season.
Stopping Okafor and Arizona's pass rush will be paramount if the 49ers want to keep quarterback Colin Kaepernick upright.
Torrey Smith vs. Jerraud Powers
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin will likely be matched up against Cardinals No. 1 cornerback Patrick Peterson in Week 3, which means fellow Arizona corner Jerraud Powers should see a lot of fellow 49ers wideout Torrey Smith.
A lot of this will depend on how San Francisco's offense looks to exploit mismatches within the secondary. And it's possible the 49ers elect to utilize wide receiver Bruce Ellington, if he's healthy, on an outside edge with Boldin taking over slot responsibilities. That is up to offensive coordinator Geep Chryst.
But Smith could continue to capitalize on his recent chemistry development with quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Provided the protection is there, Kaepernick finding Smith over the top should open up added plays underneath.
Look for this to be a critical matchup during the game.
Matchup X-Factors
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49ers X-Factor of the Week: Colin Kaepernick
Establishing the running game will be, without doubt, one of the critical components to any San Francisco success in Week 3. The 49ers need to get running back Carlos Hyde into the mix early and often.
But, as was the case in Pittsburgh, the Cardinals will likely look to bottle up Hyde and force quarterback Colin Kaepernick to make plays with his arm—an element discussed previously.
The 49ers may want to return to an uptempo, quick-strike offense like they did during the first half of the 2014 Week 3 contest in which these two teams met. San Francisco got out to a 14-6 lead by halftime of that game thanks in large measure to this sort of approach. Unfortunately, the tactic was all but abandoned in the second half.
Still, the Cardinals secondary can be exposed. This unit has allowed 580 yards through the air over two games—No. 28 in the league in fewest allowed. And Arizona's pass rush is averaging two sacks per game.
The correct balance of run and pass plays should open up opportunities for Kaepernick to find his targets provided he builds upon the positives seen over the first two games of the young season. Keeping offensive rhythm moving forward and Arizona's defense off balance will be a major factor in deciding the outcome.
This puts more pressure on Kaepernick.
If he responds adequately enough, the 49ers should be able to control the critical time-of-possession battle and avoid risking exposure of their defense and secondary to the offensive prowess of the Cardinals.
Prediction: 49ers 23, Cardinals 17
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Odds Shark currently lists the Cardinals as seven-point favorites heading into Week 3 with an estimated score of 29.1 to 20.3 in favor of Arizona.
But, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee pointed out on KHTK 1140 Wednesday morning, the 49ers seem to always play the Cardinals hard regardless of the scenario. He didn't expect to see the lopsided loss San Francisco suffered at the hands of Pittsburgh in Week 2.
It's not surprising to see the 49ers as underdogs here. They're on the road and facing a 2-0 Cardinals team, which made a mockery of the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.
Head coach Jim Tomsula's squad will make adjustments after what happened in Week 2. And, unlike the preparations for last week, San Francisco will have a full slate of time in which to prepare.
Look for the 49ers front seven to come out with more vigor and aggression than what was one display versus the Steelers. This unit will want to showcase its Week 1 abilities and not be the passive, uninspiring unit that allowed Pittsburgh's offense to seemingly score at will.
All of this will hopefully lead to quarterback Carson Palmer being thrown off his game. If this can happen, the 49ers stand a strong chance of coming away with a victory.
And stranger things have happened around the NFL so far this season, right?
Let's go with the upset here. The 49ers edge out the Cardinals in Week 3 and get things back on track.
Prediction: 49ers 23, Cardinals 17
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.
Peter Panacy is a featured columnist covering the San Francisco 49ers for Bleacher Report. Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.
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