The San Francisco 49ers are set to wrap up the 2022 regular season with an NFC West matchup as they host the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s® Stadium. This Sunday, the 49ers will look to win their 10th-consecutive game heading into playoffs and sweep the season series against the Cardinals for the first time since 2019.
The last time the two teams matched up was Week 11 in Mexico City, where San Francisco defeated the Cardinals 38-10. Both teams enter the 2022 season finale looking much different from their International Series matchup. In the teams’ mid-season contest in Mexico, Jimmy Garoppolo started under center for the 49ers and Colt McCoy was in at quarterback for Arizona.
This week, quarterback David Blough will start for the Cardinals. The quarterback arrived to Arizona in early December after being signed from the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. In his second start with the team, he’ll be without a few key players on Arizona’s offense. Here’s a look at the Cardinals current injury statuses:
- Will not play: wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (knee)
- In question: wide receiver Robbie Anderson (back) and running back James Conner (knee/shin)
- Will play: wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (wrist)
In Blough’s first start with the Cardinals in Week 17, he lead the team to a close game against the Atlanta Falcons, losing by just one point (20-19). In that contest, he completed 24 passes for 222 yards, an average of 5.6 yards per attempt, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Rookie tight end Trey McBride was Blough’s top target in Atlanta, totaling seven catches on 10 targets for 78 yards and his first-career touchdown. Brown also had a big impact in that game, catching six receptions for 61 yards and an average of 10.2 yards per catch.
Since the Cardinals will possibly be without their leading rusher, Conner, the 49ers run defense will likely have to keep their eye on veteran back Corey Clement, who had his biggest day this season in the run game last week against the Falcons. Clement rushed for 32 yards on seven attempts for an average of 4.57 yards per run in Week 17.
“(Blough) is getting a chance to go in real games and show what he can do, it’s huge, particularly against the best team in the NFC and the best defense in the league,” Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “It’s going to be a great challenge but I’m excited for him, to see how he handles that. It’s a tall task, for sure.”
The Cardinals defense is also dealing with a few significant…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…