2 Keys To The 49ers Beating The Cardinals in Week 18

The San Francisco 49ers will wrap up the 2022 regular season by hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Not only will they have the opportunity to finish the schedule with a 10-game winning streak, but they can also claim the top seed in the NFC if they win and the Philadelphia Eagles lose.

All this seemed almost unimaginable in October when they had a 3-4 record and their offense looked anemic, but they have turned things around with the help of the arrival of running back Christian McCaffrey and the emergence of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.

Some may feel it won’t matter whether San Francisco wins in Week 18, but it will matter, if for no other reason than to maintain its momentum and carry it into the postseason.

These will be the two biggest factors in whether the team does exactly that.

Health

McCaffrey is currently dealing with a sprained ankle and is considered day-to-day, while wide receiver Deebo Samuel has an ankle injury of his own and running back Elijah Mitchell has been recovering from a sprained MCL.

Samuel has missed the 49ers’ last three games while Mitchell has been unavailable for their last five contests, although both are getting closer to returning to game action.