5 Keys to the Game for the 49ers Against the Cardinals
Breaking down the top five keys to the game for the San Francisco 49ers against the Arizona Cardinals.
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00:00 Here are the top 5 keys to the game for the 49ers when they take on the Cardinals in Arizona
00:05 on Sunday.
00:06 1.
00:07 Keep Kyler Murray in the pocket.
00:10 Murray is a decent pocket passer but he's only 5'10 so he can't see the entire field
00:15 unless he scrambles.
00:16 That means the 49ers can't let him scramble.
00:19 Two weeks ago against the Eagles, the Niners wanted to make Jalen Hurd scramble out of
00:22 the back side of the pocket because he isn't fast enough to turn the corner and outrun
00:26 the Niners linebackers.
00:28 Murray certainly is fast enough to do that.
00:30 He's averaging 6.5 yards per carry against the Niners in his career.
00:34 They can't let him beat them with his legs.
00:37 2.
00:38 Defend the zone read.
00:39 The Cardinals have a good run game.
00:41 They're averaging 4.7 yards per carry this season, same as the 49ers.
00:45 And the Niners will be missing both of their starting defensive tackles, Javon Hargrave
00:49 and Eric Armstead.
00:51 That means the Cardinals offensive line should get some push at the point of attack.
00:54 And when they run the ball, they generally run the zone read so the Niners can't just
00:58 flow to the football.
00:59 If they do, they'll get tricked.
01:02 Instead, they need to honor their assignments.
01:05 One defender takes the quarterback in case he keeps the ball and one defender takes the
01:09 running back in case he takes it.
01:11 As long as the Niners are disciplined, they'll be fine.
01:14 3.
01:15 Shut down Trey McBride.
01:17 When these teams faced each other in week 4, the Niners limited McBride to just 5 receiving
01:21 yards.
01:22 That was when Josh Dobbs was the Cardinals quarterback.
01:24 Now with Murray on the field, McBride's production has exploded.
01:28 He's averaging 80.8 receiving yards per game and Murray's passer rating is 103.8 when targeting
01:34 him.
01:35 Rookie safety Jair Brown will match up with him and this will be the toughest matchup
01:38 of Brown's career so far.
01:40 4.
01:41 Hand the ball off to Jordan Mason.
01:44 The playoffs are less than a month away.
01:46 Don't overuse Christian McCaffrey in this game.
01:48 Not against the Cardinals.
01:50 The Niners can find another way to win.
01:52 And that way should involve backup running back Jordan Mason who's fresh and underutilized.
01:56 Fellow backup running back Eliza Mitchell is out with a knee injury so there's no excuse
02:00 not to use Mason.
02:01 5.
02:02 Put the game in Brock Purdy's hands.
02:04 The last time he faced the Cardinals, he completed 20 of 21 pass attempts.
02:08 He was almost perfect.
02:10 And that's because the Cardinals have no pass rush and terrible pass coverage.
02:15 Everything will be available to Purdy.
02:17 Trust him to carry the team to victory and treat him like an MVP.
02:23 (upbeat music)