The 49ers on Offense:

After the injury to Emmanuel Sanders on Monday Night Football, the 49ers offense was unable to get much done as they were kept in the game by their stout defense. The receivers behind Sanders in the depth chart had tons of dropped passes on crucial plays. If Sanders can’t go this Sunday, it will be the Kendrick Bourne and Deebo Samuel show against the Cardinals.

The Cards are catching a big break by not having to play against George Kittle, who some consider to be the best TE in the league. Does this mean Vance Joseph will get a little more creative in his play-calling this week?

QB Jimmy Garoppolo struggled against the Seahawks. He fumbled on a play that would turn into a touchdown for Seattle and had two dropped interceptions on their game-tying drive. Still, the Cardinals know they can’t take him lightly after he carved up their defense in their last meeting. Vance Joseph’s defense needs to generate much more pressure against Garoppolo than last game and force more of those turnovers.

The 49ers will likely turn to a mix of RB Tevin Coleman, Kendrick Bourne, and Deeobo Samuel this Sunday. Bourne had a touchdown reception last week but also suffered a few costly drops. On the other hand, Samuel had his best game of his young career with 8 receptions for 112 yards. This is still a favorable matchup for the Cardinals if Patrick Peterson plays at his normal level. Peterson was again under fire from the media this week because of a costly offsides penalty on a missed field goal by the Bucs. Despite this, Peterson had a solid game in coverage as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were very limited when he was on the field.

With LT Joe Staley out, the Cardinals have to be expecting a big game from Chandler Jones, who is currently tied for the most sacks in the league. Staley missed the game against the Cardinals a few weeks ago, and Jones had a solid outing. Chandler was great against the Buccaneers last week, and with a similar outing this Sunday, he may lead the league in sacks.

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