SAN FRANCISCO (5 - 2) at ARIZONA (4 - 3) - 10/29/2012, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ARIZONA is 38-20 ATS (+16.0 Units) in home games after 2 or more consecutive losses since 1992.
SAN FRANCISCO is 25-9 ATS (+15.1 Units) when playing on Monday night since 1992.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN FRANCISCO is 3-1 against the spread versus ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
SAN FRANCISCO is 3-1 straight up against ARIZONA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SAN FRANCISCO vs. ARIZONA
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Francisco's last 8 games when playing on the road against Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco's last 6 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona's last 6 games when playing San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Arizona's last 8 games when playing at home against San Francisco
San Francisco at Arizona
San Francisco: 4-14 ATS in road games after allowing 6 points or less
Arizona: 26-11 ATS in home games after 3 or more consecutive losses
Monday Night Football: 49ers at Cardinals
By Covers.com
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (7, 38.5)
For the second consecutive week, the San Francisco 49ers will get a chance to make a primetime pitch to assert their command of the NFC West race when they travel to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night. The 49ers are coming off a 13-6 win over Seattle last Thursday that put them back atop the division standings alone, but they'll need to hand Arizona its fourth straight loss to remain there. The Cardinals won their first four games, but they've fallen flat the past three weeks with losses to St. Louis, Buffalo and Minnesota. Arizona has averaged just 11 points during the losing streak, and the offense is in for a challenge against a San Francisco team that leads the NFL in total defense (272.3 yards per game) and ranks second in scoring defense (14.3 points per game). Kevin Kolb (ribs) had not been ruled out as of Thursday, but John Skelton is expected to make his second straight start at quarterback for the Cardinals.
LINE: San Francisco -7. O/U: 38.5.
ABOUT THE 49ERS (5-2): San Francisco usually knows what to expect from its dominant defense, but the offense has been a bit of an enigma. The 49ers put up 79 points in consecutive blowouts of the Jets and Bills, but they've scored just 16 points in their past two games. Quarterback Alex Smith's inconsistency has resurfaced with two straight lackluster efforts. Look for the 49ers to feed running back Frank Gore against a Cardinals defense that has been much better against the pass than the run.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (4-3): Injuries have decimated Arizona's offense, which is leaning on LaRod Stephens-Howling - who started the season as the third-string back - to carry the load. Stephens-Howling had a career-high 104 rushing yards and a touchdown last week, and the Cardinals will need another strong effort from him against a 49ers defense that is dominant against the pass. Arizona's pass rush has been strong, producing 22 sacks (third in the NFL), and getting pressure on Smith will be key to the Cardinals' success.
TRENDS:
* 49ers are 6-1 ATS in their last seven meetings.
* Under is 6-1 in Cardinals’ last seven games overall.
* Under is 4-1-1 in 49ers’ last six games overall.
* Cardinals are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four games overall.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. The 49ers have won five of the past six meetings, but the Cardinals won the most recent one, 21-19 last December in Arizona, with three touchdown passes from Skelton.
2. San Francisco is 13-0 when Smith starts and has a rating of 100.0 or higher. He has won 19 of his past 24 starts.
3. Skelton is 6-0 at home as a starter, including last year's win over the 49ers in which he had a career-best 106.5 rating.
MNF - 49ers at Cardinals
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The four teams in the NFC West were turning heads through five weeks, as each club sat at the .500 mark or above. However, the Rams and Cardinals have taken a step back over the last few weeks, while the Seahawks try to find consistency on the road. The 49ers are taking control of the NFC West after knocking off Seattle last Thursday, as San Francisco faces another division test on Monday at Arizona.
The wacky ending to San Francisco's 13-6 victory over Seattle in Week 7 upset Niners' backers when Jim Harbaugh declined to take a safety, which would have given San Francisco the cover as 7½-point favorites. Harbaugh did make the right call as the Niners avoided a potential disaster if Seattle recovered the onside kick and scored, but all that mattered was San Francisco improved to 5-2. The offense still struggled, however, as San Francisco scored a grand total of 16 points the last two games following a 45-point effort against Buffalo.
Arizona's offense isn't performing much better, scoring 33 points in the last three games, all losses. The Cardinals were the NFL's biggest surprise at 4-0, but defeats to the Rams, Bills, and Vikings have put Ken Whisenhunt's club in the middle of the pack inside the NFC West. John Skelton led Arizona to 356 yards of offense in last week's 21-14 setback at Minnesota, as the Cardinals managed a 'push' as seven-point underdogs. Since Kevin Kolb suffered a rib injury in an overtime loss to Buffalo, Skelton has guided Arizona's offense to just two touchdowns in nearly five quarters.
Two of San Francisco's most impressive showings came away from Candlestick Park this season, including the season-opening triumph at Green Bay as six-point underdogs, 30-22. The Niners also blanked the Jets as short favorites in Week 4 by a 34-0 count, while the defense has allowed six points or less in three of the last four games. However, San Francisco came out flat as 6½-point 'chalk' in a 24-13 defeat at Minnesota, as the Niners own a 2-4 ATS record as a road favorite in Harbaugh's short tenure.
The Cardinals have seen their most success in the underdog role this season by posting a 3-0-1 ATS record when receiving points. Two of those covers (and outright wins) came at University of Phoenix Stadium in Week 1 against Seattle (20-16) and Week 3 against Philadelphia (27-6), moving Arizona to 13-5 ATS in Whisenhunt's time as head coach in the home 'dog role.
The home team won each meeting in 2011, while the 49ers have taken five of the previous six matchups with the Cardinals. San Francisco dumped Arizona at Candlestick Park last November, 23-7, easily cashing as 10-point favorites. The Niners built a 23-0 advantage thanks to three David Akers field goals and a pair of touchdown passes by Alex Smith. Skelton was intercepted three times by the San Francisco defense, as the lone Arizona touchdown came from backup Richard Bartel to Larry Fitzgerald in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals picked up a modicum of revenge in the next meeting in Glendale three weeks later, grabbing a 21-19 victory as 3½-point home 'dogs. The game barely finished 'over' the total of 39, as Skelton bounced back with three touchdown tosses, including the go-ahead score to Andre Roberts a few minutes into the final quarter. Fitzgerald also rebounded from a poor showing in the previous matchup by catching seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, while the Cards overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half.
San Francisco is playing its first Monday night game since last December, a 20-3 home victory over Pittsburgh. Harbaugh embarks on his first Monday nighter on the highway as head coach of the 49ers, as San Francisco dominated Arizona under the lights in 2010, a 27-6 rout as one-point road favorites. The Niners have failed to cover in all three divisional road contests under Harbaugh, even though San Francisco won two of those three games straight-up.
This is a crucial stretch for the Cardinals, who head to Green Bay and Atlanta over the next three weeks (with the bye sandwiched in between). Arizona is playing only its fourth Monday night game at University of Phoenix Stadium, which includes a late goal-line stand against San Francisco in 2008 and the famous meltdown against Chicago in 2006 when the Bears crowned the Cardinals, 24-23.
The 49ers are listed as seven-point favorites, as Monday night 'chalk' has failed to cash in each of the last five weeks. The total is set at 38, as the game will kick off at 8:30 PM EST and can be seen nationally on ESPN.
MNF Week 8
49ers (5-2) @ Cardinals (4-3) — Arizona lost last three games after 4-0 start, scoring 11 ppg during skid (3 TD’s on 38 drives); they’ve lost five of last six games vs 49ers, three of last five here. 49ers are +2 in turnovers after being +28 LY; they’ve run ball for average of 176.3 yards game, part of why they’ve had field position edge in five of seven games, but they have allowed 135+ rushing yards three of last five week. Redbirds are getting poor QB play from banged-up duo; they started four of six first half drives in Minnesota territory last week, scored only 7 points, which is why they lost a game where they had 14-yard edge in field position- that does not happen much. Divisional home underdogs are 6-6 vs spread this year, but 3-0 in NFC West. Six of seven Cardinal games, five of last six 49er games stayed under the total. This is like a mini-bye for 49ers, who haven’t played in 11 days and are 15-6 vs spread in game before their last 21 real byes.
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