Sundayaafternoon, we'll see a battle of two 3-2 NFC West teams as the Arizona Cardinals come in to San Francisco to take on Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers. The Niners come into this game after an impressive 34-3 win over the Houston Texans. After starting the season 1-2 the Niners and their fans began to wonder what was going on with their powerhouse team. Since then the Niners have won two in a row and currently sit at 3-2 and one game behind the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West.
Week six presents a game that can prove to be a big one here in the early season. A win for the Niners will put them at 4-2 and 2-1 in the conference after six games in what many people thought could be a very poor start. The loss would drop the Cardinals, a division foe, to 3-3 overall while putting them at 0-2 in the division.
With San Francisco currently favored by 10 points its obvious that a lot of people think Arizona doesn't have a chance. Both losses for the Cardinals have come on the road where they will be once again this week as they travel to San Francisco. The Cardinals have become very turnover prone as Carson Palmer has thrown five interceptions in his last two contests. Amazingly the Cardinals won both of those games. Those victories speak to how well the Cardinals defense has been playing. Over those same two weeks the defense has forced seven turnovers while allowing only 16 points.
With both defenses playing at a higher level right now, this game could be a gridlock from start to finish.The Niners need to come into this game with an urgency and not let their guard down coming out of back-to-back wins.
[caption id="attachment_791" align="alignright" width="258" caption="Jon Baldwin wearing his new No. 84 Jersey for the San Francisco 49ers."]
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Desperately in need of a No. 2 receiver the Niners turned to Jon Baldwin last week. The Niners acquired him in the off-season from the Kansas City Chiefs. Baldwin started opposite of Anquan Boldin last week but in a game where Kaepernick only attempted 15 passes completing six of them, Baldwin was a non-factor. This week the Cardinals defense will zero in on stopping the rush and covering both Boldin and Davis. Boldin will likely be shadowed by Patrick Peterson and Vernon Davis will have to work through being double teamed by linebackers and safeties. With that being said Jon Baldwin will see coverage from Jerraud Powers in a one on one match-up that Baldwin can surely win. Baldwin will be the x-factor in a game that will be closer than many people think.
Final Score Prediction: SF 49ers 27 - AZ Cardinals 23
Stat predictions: Colin Kaepernick 19-28 265 yards 2 TD/6 ATT 24 YDS
Anquan Boldin/Vernon Davis: 11 REC 134 YDS 1 TD
Jon Baldwin: 5 REC 98 YDS 1 TD
Frank Gore: 18 ATT 74 YDS 0 TD
Anthony Dixon: 2 ATT 5 YDS 1 TD
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