In the final game of Week 11, the NFL will make its newest entry in the International Series. Arizona Cardinals “host” San Francisco 49ers Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Cardinals likely won’t start quarterback Kyler Murray,in short Colt McCoy It will be undercenter. Arizona scored a win against divisional rivalry with McCoy in last week’s game, but that game was also against the opponent’s backup his quarterback. Technically, the 49ers are starting backup quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo took over later Trey Lance Season-ending injuries, but it’s a very different situation than that John Walford play instead Matthew Stafford.
San Francisco is on a two-game winning streak since losing the first game. Christian McCaffrey Times, and a chance to ride rolls. Will the Niners continue their winning streak or will the Cardinals pull off an upset? Here’s how to watch the game before analyzing the matchup.
Viewing method
date: Monday, November 21 | time: 8:15 PM ET
position: Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico)
tv set: ESPN | stream: Hubo TV (Try it for free)
follow: CBS Sports App
odds: 49ers -8, O/U 43 (Credit: Caesars Sportsbook)
when the 49ers have the ball
A few weeks ago we wrote about the kinds of things the 49ers are expected to do aggressively around Christian McCaffrey.
Shanahan is one of the most original play designers in the league, and McCaffrey has unrivaled versatility for a nominal running back. NFLSince entering the league in 2017, McCaffrey ranks 11th in snaps placed as a perimeter wide receiver and 3rd in snaps placed in slots, according to Tru Media.
his flexibility and Deebo Samueleven as Kyle Jashchik and even Brandon Ayuk, and we’re going to see the Niners get into the wild. Samuel, of course, is first among all wide receivers with snaps placed in the backfield. He’s been there in his 15% of snaps this season. This is about the same as the frequency of queuing into slots (19%). Yuszczyk, who is a fullback and therefore plays a much lighter snap road than most runners, is the backfield he snaps in the players he is out he is wide he is 6th slot he is snap he is Second place.
It’s pretty easy to imagine the Niners dropping McCaffrey in a lot of what they do in terms of moving players to different positions and getting the ball in creative ways. panthers Offenses have found ways to do that sometimes. Whether it’s lining him up in slots, sending him in Orbit Motion, or sending him wide to block in front of him and create a smokescreen, we’re looking at what we’re likely to see in San Francisco. I’ve seen a lot in Carolina…
But the 49ers, for example, Jeff Wilson junior or Elijah Mitchell, or even Juszczyk, he is an elite and home run threat as both a runner and receiver. These can create even more space for players like Samuel by inserting him in place of his one of the three players. Also, having Samuel in the backfield or Jaszczyk wide or slotted creates confusion in the team and leaves more room to work for McCaffrey…
The passing game San Francisco should be able to access with CMC on the field could be even more exciting. The concept remains the same, but who and how threatens the enemy’s defenses is always changing. Imagine the Niners lined up in a spread look, shifting Samuel into the backfield and moving Jaszczyk to fake a handoff to Samuel in that direction and flip a quick screen back to McCaffrey. , Samuel in the backfield, Yushchik in the wideout, CMC in the slot, and Ayyuk split on the same side of the field.
And in the three games CMC has played with his new team, we’ve seen more than that. Also, I’ve seen leaning into getting Elijah Mitchell to cast McCaffrey’s spell on some of the low-leverage running work.
McCaffrey got all the third-down jobs and most of the goal-line jobs, but gave up some early-down stuff and barely got Salt the Game, who teamed up and delayed multiple scores. I didn’t work. And why should he? Anyway Mitchell is a good player and there is no real reason to risk McCaffrey’s health in such a situation. And given the relative weakness of Arizona’s run defense, it should be able to do just as well in this contest. Even if he didn’t get his 18 carries that he achieved a week ago, he still has some work to do here.
San Francisco will certainly leverage the threats of both McCaffrey and Mitchell to bolster their play-action passing game and continue to unbalance Arizona’s passing rush, splitting screens fairly between Samuel, Ayuk and Kittle. Unless someone makes a ton of his YAC, things might not be that explosive, but it’s very likely to be efficient.
When the Cardinals Have the Ball
So it sounds like Colt McCoy will be below center in Arizona.
McCoy last week rams, completed 26 of 37 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. In three games as a Murray substitute last season, McCoy had 740 yards, three touchdowns and one pick 74-of-99. It’s actually pretty good! However, this is not exactly the same as McCoy’s performance for the rest of his career (62.2% completion rate, his 6.6 yards per attempt, his 34 touchdowns to 29 interceptions, and 8.3% sack rate). does not match. Against a defense as good as San Francisco. For players who play infrequently and bring uncertainty, it’s important to think about what really happens in this matchup.
So what do we know? We know the Cardinals will widen the field.I know they try to steal the ball deandre hopkins As often as possible.we know James Connor Get most of the snap in the backfield.we know londale moore The guru under it and its absence Zack Arts We change things up a bit on that front. (But I don’t know what to expect from a newcomer Trey McBride.) And we know the Niners are likely to create a ton of pressure against an offensive line that looks likely to be overwhelmed.
It doesn’t sound like an aggressive recipe for success. Perhaps McCoy will disappoint, but it’s hard to imagine what it would be like against this particular opponent.
Featured games | | Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers
Predictions: 49ers 24, Cardinals 10