It’s a familiar matchup for the 49ers as they take on the Arizona Cardinals just 17 days after their win in Arizona. The 49ers escaped Arizona on Halloween with a 28-25 victory that saw Jimmy Garoppolo carry the offense with four touchdown passes, and a defense that barely held on long enough to get the job done. The two division rivals will close out their season series Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Here are the three matchups that could decide whether the 49ers sweep or Arizona can earn a split:
Deebo Samuel vs. Patrick Peterson
With George Kittle out and Emmanuel Sanders questionable for Sunday, Samuel could be the best receiver on the field for the 49ers. With that comes a matchup against one of the better cornerbacks in league. Samuel had the best game of his career against Seattle with eight receptions for 112 despite having a couple of drops that could have added to his numbers. If Sanders can’t go, expect Jimmy Garoppolo to target Samuel a bit but with that comes throwing at Peterson, a three-time All-Pro corner.
Mike McGlinchey vs. Chandler Jones
Whatever the reason was, McGlinchey struggled in his first start back following injury. Both he and Joe Staley struggled to contain Jadeveon Clowne, who pressured Garoppolo 11 times Monday night. Now with a game under his belt, McGlinchey will face another tough test against Chandler Jones. Jones is tied for the NFL lead with 11.5 sacks, and was able to sack Garoppolo once and hit him twice when the two teams met two weeks ago. However, the last time they met it was Daniel Brunskill lined up against Jones. McGlinchey will need to play better than Monday night, or it’ll be a long night for Garoppolo.
The 49ers defense vs. Arizona’s tempo
The Thursday night matchup was a tale of two halves for the 49ers defense. Arizona scored on their opening drive of the game, but couldn’t find the end zone for the remainder of the first half. Arizona then opened the second half by pushing the tempo and was successful in doing so. They opened the half with a seven-play, 83-yard touchdown drive that took just 2:41 off the clock. After scoring seven points in the first half, Arizona followed with 18 in the second and got dangerously close to defeating the 49ers. Look for Arizona to start pushing the tempo early on and see if the 49ers defense can answer better than they did on Halloween.
