NFL Week 12 Betting – Cards Should Soar Over San Fran

Arizona Cardinals (-10.5, 44.5 o/u) at San Francisco 49ers

The Arizona Cardinals (8-2, 4-1 Away) have looked like the best team in football lately, and they’ll probably look just as good when they visit their NFC West division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers (3-7, 3-2 Home), this Sunday at Levi’s Stadium (4:05 PM Eastern).

Arizona is on a four-game winning streak that include wins over the Seahawks in Seattle and at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Cards have the top offense in the NFL: averaging 33.6 points, 297.4 6 yards via the passing game and 119.7 a game from the rush.

Both their wins against the Seahawks and the Bengals saw QB Carson Palmer at his best, combining for seven touchdowns and two interceptions in those victories.

“He can have rough moments, shake them off and just come on back,” coach Bruce Arians said of Palmer. “He’s like a really good pitcher who can’t find the plate, then all of a sudden he gets in a groove.”

This will be the second time this season the Cardinals meet the 49ers after smashing San Francisco 47-7 in Week 3.  That day Arizona out-gained San Fran 446 total yards to 156: the Niners also help with four turnovers.

Colin Kaepernick was under center that game; now the 49ers will have Blaine Gabbert throwing the pigskin. Gabbert has started the last two games, throwing for 449 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in those games.

“Gabbert is taking care of the football better. The receivers are more involved, so it’s a good challenge for us,” said Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu to the Associated Press. “It seems like Gabbert has a better understanding of coverages and getting his receivers involved. He’s an underrated passer.”

San Francisco has struggled on both sides of the ball; however, their offense has been close to a laughing stock. The Niners average 13.9 points per game, worst in the NFL; 118.1 passing yards (30th) and 100.1 rushing yards (18th).

Also, their starting running back, Carlos Hyde, continue to struggle with a stress fracture in his foot. If he can’t go, then San Francisco will have to play with Shaun Draughn for the third game in a row;.Draughn has averaged 3.4 yards per game and is yet to find the end zone this season.

The Cardinals are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following an ATS loss and 17-5 ATS vs. a team with a losing record. The 49ers are 3-7 ATS in their last ten home games and 1-6-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

Pick: Cardinals (-10.5).

(Photo Credit: Michael Wifall (Originally uploaded to Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/])