Here is what awaits the undefeated 49ers (3-0) ahead of Sunday's visit by the Arizona Cardinals (1-2).
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers were the NFL’s first team to reach 3-0, but eight other teams looked to equal that start entering Sunday’s slate of NFL games.
Soon, only two other teams will be left standing in with the 49ers in the undefeated ranks: the Miami Dolphins, who scored a mere 70 points in Sunday’s win over Denver, and the winner of tonight’s Philadelphia Eagles’ visit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (barring a tie).
That’s not to say the 49ers are already consumed by the potential playoff picture – or the 1972 Dolphins’ one-and-only undefeated season.
After Thursday night’s home-opening 30-12 rout of the New York Giants, the 49ers had the weekend off to watch NFC challengers Dallas, Washington, Atlanta and New Orleans each lose, along with the AFC’s Baltimore Ravens, the franchise that handed the 49ers their first Super Bowl defeat a decade ago. (Still too soon?).
The Cowboys’ defeat was the most stunning, not just to prove their mortality but that it came in 28-16 road fashion to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers’ next opponent: the Cardinals, on Sunday at 1:25 p.m. at Levi’s Stadium. (The 49ers’ next next opponent: the Cowboys, on Oct. 8 “Sunday Night Football” at Levi’s Stadium.)
THIS WEEK’S STORYLINES
1. Quarterback battle: Are you ready for Brock Purdy vs. Kyler Murray, er, Joshua Dobbs? Purdy remains unbeaten in regular-season action (nine games since replacing Jimmy Garoppolo) and he’s gone 190 consecutive passes without an interception (dating to New Year’s Day in Vegas). With Murray still recovering from last season’s ACL tear, the Cardinals traded for Dobbs a month ago from Cleveland (2024 fifth-round pick). He also hasn’t been intercepted this season (82 passes), but he threw for only 189 yards Sunday, including 69 on one play, en route to his first career win in seven NFL seasons.
2. Ex-Eagles reunion: Sunday marked the first win for Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. Gannon previously served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and it was his unit that stymied the quarterback-challenged 49ers in a 31-7 NFC Championship Game blowout (before the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss to Kansas City). Two free agents from that defense are off to hot starts with their new teams: the 49ers’ Javon Hargrave and the Cardinals’ Kyzir White, the latter of whom had a win-clinching interception and 14 tackles Sunday.
3. Receiver health: Brandon Aiyuk didn’t play in Thursday’s win because of his Week 2 shoulder injury, so that seems more concerning than Deebo Samuel’s rib issues. Samuel was hurt in the fourth quarter Thursday night but returned to cap that same drive with a touchdown catch, then underwent X-rays that revealed no fracture, coach Kyle Shanahan said. Maybe Purdy just needs to target George Kittle, whose six career touchdown catches against the Cardinals equal his most against any team (the Rams are the other).
4. Touchdown streaks: McCaffrey has scored a touchdown in 12 consecutive games, playoffs included, for the NFL’s longest active streak. His Cardinals’ counterpart is no slough. James Conner has scored in eight of his past 10 games for the Cardinals, and he has five touchdowns in his past three games against the 49ers, including a hat trick in the 2021 Cardinals’ win at Levi’s Stadium.
5. Trap game: Did we mention that the Cowboys await the following Sunday in a prime-time rematch from the playoffs? Which playoffs? Well, there was the 49ers’ victory in last year’s divisional home game, and in the 2021 wild-card visit to the Cowboys. No shortage of drama in this (or that) storied rivalry.
INJURY REPORT
Here are the 49ers injuries to follow:
WR Deebo Samuel (ribs)
WR Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder)
LB Dre Greenlaw (ankle)
LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (ankle)
CB Ambry Thomas (knee)
Here are the Cardinals’ injuries:
LB Zaven Collins (eye)
LB Krys Barnes (hand)
LB Josh Woods (ankle)
DL Leki Fotu (shoulder)
OL Kelvin Beachum (hand)
DL L.J. Collins (Injured Reserve; biceps)
S Budda Baker (Injured Reserve; hamstring)
DL Carlos Watkins (Injured Reserve; biceps)
LAST MEETING
The 49ers won 38-13 at home in the Jan. 8 regular-season finale, for a 10th straight win. The Cardinals, in J.J. Watt’s NFL farewell, jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the game’s second snap, when David Blough threw a flea-flicker for a 77-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green, who beat Deommodore Lenoir and Tashaun Gipson Sr. on the play. Purdy had a career-high 141.2 passer rating and his first game with three touchdown passes (two to Kittle, one to Christian McCaffrey). Gipson had two interceptions, and George Odum one.
SERIES HISTORY
The 49ers lead 34-29, but are just 2-4 against the Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium since Kyle Shanahan became the 49ers’ coach. Those wins: 2019 (36-36) and last year (38-13); those losses were in 2017 (20-10), ’18 (28-18), ’20 (24-20) and ’21 (31-17). Moral of that story: The 49ers win if they score 30 points for a fourth straight game this season.
WEATHER
Sunny, high of 77 degrees, winds 10 to 15 mph, according to weather.com
BETTING LINE
The 49ers opened as 14 ½-point favorites, according to DraftKings.com
Prediction:
49ers 33, Cardinals 7
