All49ers Week 9 Preview

The writers of All49ers bring you their predictions for Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Here's what three All49ers writers think will go down Sunday when the 49ers play at home against the Arizona Cardinals.

Waruna Perera

The 49ers are playing the Cardinals for the second time this season. This time around, with Jimmy Garoppolo starting instead of Trey Lance, Kyle Shanahan should have a different playbook. The Cardinals are battling with their injury issues while the 49ers will remain cautious with Deebo Samuel. 

The question remains on Garoppolo's ability to move the offense against a solid defense. The success against the Chicago Bears defense which did not pose any threats was good for the stats, but the real test awaits for Garoppolo at Levi's stadium.

This team is yet to win a home game this season. But the Cardinals are not the same team the 49ers faced a few weeks ago. Even if Kyler Murray plays, his mobility should be limited. 

The 49ers will have to use their run game to control the time of possession. With Brandon Aiyuk returning to the fold, we should expect a better performance from the second year wide receiver.

The game should be a close one given that the Cardinal's defense can shut down Garoppolo. The 49ers can get back on track with a win that will make them 4-4, but a loss will diminish the playoff hopes.

Final Prediction: 20 - 16 49ers win

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Kev Mitchell

Round 2, FIGHT! In my best Mortal Kombat voice. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Moving along. 

So here we are, Round 2 of the divisional matchup with the Cardinals. The good news is the 49ers are home at Levi’s Stadium coming off a much-needed win (now 3-4 on the season) over the Chicago Bears, to now face the 7-1 Cardinals. The bad news is the 49ers have yet to win a game at home this season. So much for home field advantage, huh? But I digress.

As we know, the Trey Lance led 49ers lost to the Cardinals back in their first meeting 17-10. In all honesty, Lance even in his first start and throwing one interception looked pretty good, and was just about 83 percent of the total offense, and had just one three and out on the day. Unfortunately for him, he was playing out of position and was used more like running back, which resulted in a loss and him getting hurt. 

This time around, it’ll be Jimmy Garoppolo under center. With Garoppolo coming off a strong and confident performance (though against a defense missing Khalil Mack) finishing 17/28 with 322 yards passing, 2 rushing TDs and 0 turnovers. He’ll now need to repeat that performance against a much better Cardinals defense. Luckily for Garoppolo, the Cardinals will be without J.J. Watt, who had a huge game in the first meeting, spending timeshare type time in the backfield. 

Speaking of injuries, the Cardinals are limping into this game as they will also possibly be without: WR DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), DT Rashard Lawrence (calf), QB Kyler Murray (ankle) and S James Wiggins (knee).

If Garoppolo can carry over the same confidence and consistency from the second half of last week's game, start fast, and again not turn the ball over, this could very well be the 49ers first win at home and first against a divisional opponent. I expect the 49ers to continue to lean on the ground game with Elijah Mitchell (another 100-plus-yard game would be great) and company to control the clock. Having the people’s tight end, George Kittle, back will definitely help, especially with Deebo Samuel (paging Brandon Aiyuk) dealing with a calf issue.

I stated recently on a show with Grant Cohn answering the question: Did Garoppolo earn more time as QB1 after his performance vs the Bears? So long as he continues to play as well as he did in the second half, he’ll be safe as QB1, for now. If for some reason he struggles vs the Cardinals defense, especially missing Watt, I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Kyle Shanahan made the change to Lance, as he has shown he has an extra element to move the ball. 

Be it Garoppolo or Lance, I expect the 49ers to win this game. Either quarterback (the offense) will benefit from having Kittle back healthy. The defense will benefit from both Murray and Hopkins either being out or not at 100 percent. Keep in mind, the 49ers defense held Murray to only 1 rushing yard in the first game and I expect more of the same with him one good leg. I predict the 49ers get their first home win this Sunday and improve to 4-4.

Final prediction: 49ers 27 Cardinals 17

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Chuy Marquez

The 49ers are back at Levi’s Stadium this week trying to get their first home win of the season. They will face a Cardinals team that is currently bit by the injury bug and look to build off a much needed win last week in Chicago. Here’s how I see it unfolding.

The 49ers outgained the Cardinals in Week 5 in total yards gained, yards per play and time of possession, even though the Cardinals were healthy on both sides of the ball. This performance came with backup Trey Lance running a basic offense that lacked any type of creativity or explosive plays. The 49ers will attempt to run the ball early and carry on the success from last week but the Cardinals will sell out to stop the run. The 49ers offense will rest on the arm of Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo has a 100-plus QB rating in all three 49ers wins this season and a victory against Arizona will require that once again regardless if Kyler Murray or DeAndre Hopkins play.

The 49ers defense will once again be successful in slowing down the Cardinals offense. Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and Samson Ekubam will make their presence felt and will put relentless pressure on a hobbled Murray or backup Colt McCoy. The Cardinals are not a running football team and will struggle mightily on offense.

The 49ers will win in impressive fashion: 49ers 41 - Cardinals 17