3 reasons 49ers are on upset alert against Arizona Cardinals

This game won't be as easy as you might think

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The San Francisco 49ers are 6-4 and the Arizona Cardinals are 3-6. However, the spread on the game is less than a field goal, and for a good reason. Why are the Cardinals a team that is frisky enough to pull off the upset?

These are not the same San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers won at home against the Cardinals in Week 3, but it took a late field goal to pull a one-point victory. Now, this 49ers roster is not nearly as good. They lost Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams since then.

Without Warner and Bosa, the 49ers are the 30th-best defense in the NFL. They are 2-3. This is how you should view the 49ers moving forward. Teams like the 49ers do not go on the road and pull off road wins against division rivals often. 

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Arizona Cardinals are battle-tested

The 49ers are arguably the worst team the Cardinals will have faced since Jacoby Brissett took over as quarterback. In the last four weeks, the Cardinals have played the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Seattle Seahawks, with three of those games being on the road. 

The only offense that could be compared as equivalent is the Packers, and they still had Tucker Kraft and were firing at that point in the season. Seattle, Dallas, and Indianapolis are the three best offenses going right now. The only defense that they have faced that is close to San Francisco is Dallas, and Arizona won that game on the road, scoring 44 points along the way. 

Indianapolis is above average on defense, while Green Bay and Seattle are regarded as two of the best going. 

Arizona is now at home, and the opponent is not as good. If they show up like their season is on the line, San Francisco will lose. 

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49ers offense could take time to gel 

The 49ers are expected to start Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall this week. That should be a big upgrade for the offense, but at the same time, it is a lot of moving pieces, and Purdy has not been practicing in full. It would not be a shock if the team had one or two drives where things looked rusty. 

The issue is that the defense may not afford them that time. The Cardinals are not the Rams offense, but against this defense, they can establish an early lead. This has a recipe for San Francisco trying to come back and avoid an upset late.