Cardinals vs. 49ers prediction and odds for Week 18 (San Fran’s defense bounces back)
The San Francisco 49ers are very comfortable in the No. 2 seed in the NFC, but they can still do some moving in the NFC. They have a shot to leapfrog Philadelphia and secure the bye week that comes with the top seed.
If the Niners beat Arizona at home this week and Philly loses to New York, no matter how unlikely that seems, then San Fran has the top spot. If San Francisco loses to Arizona and Minnesota wins its game against Chicago, then the 49ers would fall to third in the NFC.
So, Kyle Shanahan’s team certainly has something to play for against Arizona who is just hoping for the best possible draft pick at this point.
Arizona has already had some of its stars shutdown by injury, and now we can add DeAndre Hopkins to that list for Week 18.
With nothing to play for, the Cardinals are massive underdogs in San Francisco, so let’s get into the odds.
Cardinals vs. 49ers Odds, Spread and Total
San Francisco and Arizona Betting Trends
- San Francisco is 10-6 ATS
- Arizona is 8-8 ATS
- Arizona is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 vs. NFC West
- San Francisco is 7-0 ATS in its last 7 vs. NFC West
Cardinals vs. 49ers Prediction and Pick
San Francisco got itself into an interesting matchup with Las Vegas this weekend and needed overtime to take down Jarrett Stidham 37-34.
That is certainly not how DeMeco Ryans wants his defense to be playing heading into the playoffs.
They’re still the No. 1 scoring defense in the league, but they’ve fallen barely behind Philadelphia in yards per game. I still like San Fran’s defense better than any other in the league, and I know they’re going to want to pound David Blough and the Cardinals to feel good heading into the playoffs.
Nick Bosa especially will want to have a big day. He’s almost certainly the Defensive Player of the Year, and leads the league with 17.5 sacks, but he might try to get to 20 this week and really put a stamp on his season.
Blough was able to move the ball well against Atlanta last week in Arizona’s 20-19 loss, but this week the Cards won’t be able to lean on the run-game. The 49ers allow only 78.8 rushing yards per game which is the best in the NFL.
I don’t think Blough is going to catch them off guard with a 365 yard game like Stidham did last week, so I like San Fran even with the massive spread.
The trends tell me this is a good bet. Arizona is 1-7 against the spread in its last seven games against the NFC West, while San Fran has covered in all of its last seven games against divisional opponents.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
