Six 49ers players to watch against the Cardinals in Week 15
The San Francisco 49ers have two huge opportunities ahead of them in Week 15. With a win over the Arizona Cardinals on the road, the 49ers can clinch the NFC West title for the second successive season. Beyond that, the Niners could take a huge step towards the one seed in the NFC. The Dallas […]
The San Francisco 49ers have two huge opportunities ahead of them in Week 15.
With a win over the Arizona Cardinals on the road, the 49ers can clinch the NFC West title for the second successive season. Beyond that, the Niners could take a huge step towards the one seed in the NFC. The Dallas Cowboys have a tricky road game against the Buffalo Bills while the Philadelphia Eagles might have to face the Seattle Seahawks without quarterback Jalen Hurts.
By the end of Monday Night Football, the 49ers could have a one-game lead on both with three games to play. San Francisco holds the tiebreaker over Dallas and Philadelphia, but the 49ers must take care of business in a potential trap game with the Cardinals before they can even think about their margin over that NFC East pair. Here we look at six players who are pivotal to the 49ers avoiding an upset in Arizona.
QB Brock Purdy
Purdy being a player to watch is not exactly a bold statement, but it's impossible to leave the Arizona native off this list in a game that represents a homecoming for the 49ers quarterback.
He had no problem slicing up the Cardinals defense in their Week 4 encounter, and there will likely be plenty of 49ers fans at State Farm Stadium to decrease the hostile nature of the road atmosphere.
Yet Purdy is still under plenty of pressure to keep the offense producing the explosive plays that could quickly extinguish any thought of the 49ers suffering an upset. If he delivers and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott stumbles against the Bills, this could be the weekend in which Purdy takes a definitive lead in the MVP race.
TE George Kittle
Kittle had just one catch for nine yards in the 49ers' 35-16 home win over the Cardinals, but had four touchdowns across both meetings with Arizona last season.
Closing in on the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since the 2019 season, Kittle may benefit from a favorable matchup with Cardinals safety Budda Baker a late addition to the injury report with an illness.
With three of his six touchdowns this year coming since the Week 9 bye, Kittle has been extremely influential in the 49ers' five-game winning streak even if he has taken something of a backseat to Deebo Samuel. A prominent role for Kittle as the 49ers look to clinch the division appears to be a given.
DT Javon Kinlaw and Kevin Givens
The 49ers will be down both their starting defensive tackles on Sunday with Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead, meaning Kinlaw and Givens will be set to fill the void.
Kinlaw started last week in the win over the Seattle Seahawks and impressed with four pressures and some excellent work against the run. After Hargrave left with a hamstring injury, Givens shouldered the majority of the burden next to Kinlaw.
Givens held up extremely well, but the 49ers now must attempt to thrive on defense with this duo manning the middle of the line for a full game.
San Francisco will mix in the likes of Kalia Davis and T.Y. McGill, but much of the onus will fall on Kinlaw and Givens to ensure the drop off without Hargrave is minimal.
Kinlaw has taken his game to another level in recent weeks. The former first-round pick is set to hit unrestricted free agency in the offseason, meaning there is financial incentive for him to snatch another opportunity to start beyond the motivation of winning the NFC West.
LB Dre Greenlaw
Greenlaw missed two days of practice this week with ankle and hip injuries but is seemingly poised to play after returning on Friday.
Beyond the defensive line keeping contain, the pursuit of the linebackers will be critical to the 49ers limiting the dual-threat upside of Kyler Murray.
Pursuit is where Greenlaw does much of his best work, and it will likely soon become apparent if his injury issues are preventing him from making his usual impact.
Against a quarterback as athletic as Murray, the 49ers can't afford Greenlaw to be below par.
CB Ambry Thomas
Since Week 10, Thomas has the sixth-best Pro Football Focus grade in coverage of all cornerbacks.
Thomas has excelled since the 49ers decided to return to their early-season plan of starting him outside on nickel downs.
With Charvarius Ward (groin) questionable for this game, Thomas may be asked to be a full-time starter in Week 15.
He had no problem essentially doing so against Seattle after Ward went out on the first defensive series, but with Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore two focal points of the Arizona passing game, he figures to be tested by the Cardinals' speed at receiver. It's an examination he must ensure he passes.
49ers make roster moves that point to potential good injury news
It would be a big boost.
