Cardinals Prepared to Face 'Scary' 49ers Backfield
The Arizona Cardinals prepare for their biggest game of the season: A Monday night showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.
Talk around the Cardinals is mostly placed on the offensive side of the ball, as questions surround the overall health of the offensive line and quarterback position while hoping Marquise Brown can make his return in primetime as well.
Yet Arizona's defense has their work cut out for them, as the 49ers pose of the league's most lethal offenses with Kyle Shanahan at the helm. Weapons such as George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are at their disposal.
Newly acquired Christian McCaffrey complicates things even further for Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. McCaffrey has scored three times for the 49ers in his three games with the team, and has recently performed well in his last two games vs. Arizona:
2021: 13 attempts for 95 rushing yards | 10 receptions for 66 yards
2022: 8 attempts for 27 rushing yards | 9 receptions for 81 yards and 1 TD
Now, the Cardinals have the pleasure of facing him twice more.
"Obviously he's a great player. We played him what, week two or three maybe? Yeah, He adds the passing game element from the backfield for those guys," Joseph told reporters this week.
"Their running game's obviously their first deal they do but him as a receiver, it's a tough match for most backers. So to have a plan to get the right guy on him on first, second and third down, it's a must for us. To add one more great player their offense is obviously good for them and bad for us. But it's definitely different watching them with him and without.
"I mean he's in the slot. He's running jets. He's running sweeps. He's catching balls downfield, he's throwing passes. So to watch what they've done with him the last month it's been kind of scary, but we'll see what happens on Monday."
Yet McCaffrey isn't the only capable back. Even after dealing Jeff Wilson Jr., Elijah Mitchell serves as a nice counter in San Francisco's backfield.
"Mitchell finished the game last week. I think the last eight to 10 carries it was Mitchell. He's fresh. He's a young guy. So he's a tough out. You know, McCaffrey obviously in the pass game is a bigger threat. But in the run game, it's the same," Joseph said of the backfield splits.
"It's a tough scheme to master with the jets and the motions and the shifts. They try and ungap you before the ball's even snapped. Most of the time they do it. So the run game, it's difficult with both guys but the pass game obviously with Christian is a lot tougher."
It's a system that allows talent to be utilized in every which way, but the Cardinals have indeed found ways to prevent damage being done. Arizona swept the 49ers last season by allowing just 43 and 36 rushing yards to San Francisco's top running back in their respective meetings (Trey Lance paced the 49ers in rushing during their first game, for what it's worth).
Things will certainly be different with McCaffrey's presence.
In Arizona's last six games, the Cardinals have given up at least 136 or more rushing yards in four contests. They've allowed six rushing touchdowns in the last three weeks.
It's a NFC West showdown, which pits two very familiar teams against each other. Yet the wrinkle of CMC will certainly show something different for the Cardinals to handle.
Joseph believes they're ready. We'll see if they're up to task in Estadio Azteca.
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