The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals will meet in Mexico City on Monday night, 17 years after the NFC West rivals clashed in the first regular-season NFL game played outside of the United States.
Nearly 90,000 fans are expected at Estadio Azteca, with the 49ers a consensus 10-point favorite.
San Francisco (5-4) is seeking a third consecutive win that would vault the team into a first-place tie in the division with Seattle. Arizona (4-6) is trying to build on a victory over the Los Angeles Rams last week with the Cardinals scraping to stay in the playoff picture.
Colt McCoy is expected to start at quarterback for Arizona again in place of Kyler Murray, who missed the Rams game due to a hamstring injury.
PROP PICKS
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Anytime TD Scorer (-140 at BetMGM): This is the second most popular prop at the sportsbook, right behind McCaffrey at +450 to score the first touchdown of the game. He has a pair of rushing touchdowns to go with a receiving score and another passing in the past two games since getting fully integrated into the offense.
Cardinals RB James Conner Over 50.5 Rushing Yards (-120 at DraftKings): The 49ers have the No. 2 run defense in the league, allowing an average of just 82.7 yards per game on the ground. It won’t be an easy task but as long as the Cardinals can keep the game within reach, they will need to stay balanced offensively with McCoy at the helm. Following the surprising release of Eno Benjamin, Conner is the unquestioned bell cow in Arizona’s backfield.
49ers TE George Kittle Over 3.5 Receptions (-140 at BetMGM): This is the third most popular prop at the sportsbook. After a slow start to the season following a groin injury, Kittle appears to be back to 100 percent. He had just one catch on two targets in the win over the Chargers before the bye but averaged 5.5 receptions on 7.5 targets over the previous four games. There is some concern over how the 49ers will spread the ball to all of their healthy offensive weapons, but the Cardinals are allowing 247.1 yards per game through the air.
INJURY REPORT
49ers: DT Arik Armstead (foot, ankle) is out, while DE Samson Ebukam (quadricep, Achilles) is questionable.
Cardinals: Murray (groin) is expected to miss his second consecutive game, although McCoy (knee) wasn’t listed on the final injury report. WR DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) is listed as questionable but is expected to play. G Max Garcia (shoulder) is also questionable, while offensive tackle D.J. Humphries (back), TE Zach Ertz (knee) and CB Byron Murphy (back) are out.
PREDICTION
The injury focus for Arizona has been on the quarterback position but the left side of the offensive line is beat up and McCoy won’t have Ertz at his disposal. Ten points is a big spread but this game could also get out of hand come the second half and San Francisco’s defense is the top-ranked unit in the league. –49ers 30, Cardinals 16
–Field Level Media
