ARIZONA CARDINALS

Spooky storylines: Cardinals host undefeated 49ers on Halloween

Oct 30, 2019, 6:04 PM | Updated: 11:26 pm

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals watches from the sidelines during the second ha...

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals watches from the sidelines during the second half of the NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons at State Farm Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Falcons 34-33. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

TEMPE, Ariz. — A short week may not be kind to either of the Arizona Cardinals or San Francisco 49ers, but it’s obvious which team has the horses to better survive the less-than-ideal circumstances.

The 49ers visit State Farm Stadium undefeated through seven games, while the Cardinals are 3-4-1 and looking like they’ll enter a Thursday Night Football showdown on Halloween leaning on three relatively new running backs.

Before Arizona and San Francisco clash for the first of two meetings within three weeks of one another, here are a number of spooky storylines heading into the game, both big and small.

Rising from the dead

Cringe your way back to last season if you dare.

Two of the Cardinals’ three wins in 2018 came against a San Francisco team that, as far as leadership is concerned, wasn’t too different.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t have starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo or projected starting running back Jerick McKinnon. Both suffered ACL injuries before facing Arizona twice.

The Cardinals beat San Francisco 28-18 and 18-15 in two games in October 2018.

Since then, things have changed for the 49ers, obviously.

“I’m not GM and I don’t really have no real background of building a football team, but I guess (GM John Lynch) is doing a great job over there of getting the guys that he feels and believes can help that organization turn the corner,” said Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Linebacker Kwon Alexander (2019 free agency), cornerback Richard Sherman (2018 free agency), defensive end Dee Ford (2019 trade) and receiver Emmanuel Sanders (2019 trade) were among the key pickups by the 49ers that have led to a resurgence.

A healthy Garoppolo and the draft that allowed them to select defensive end Nick Bosa, their leader sack man, has also helped make the leap from worst to, right now, first.

Leave you at the cemetery

San Francisco’s identity is pretty clear-cut.

They want to run you over and bury you.

They’ve run the ball a league-high 38.9 times per game, using pre-snap motions to confuse defenders. Occasionally, Garoppolo will throw it.

And that works in concert with a defense with playmakers at all three levels.

While San Francisco has one of the most physically imposing defensive fronts with 6-foot-8 Arik Armstead and 6-foot-7 DeForest Buckner working inside of Ford and Bosa, it’s the pass defense that’s allowed an NFL-leading 128.7 passing yards per game.

That’s not a typo.

“Some teams try to confuse you, lot of different looks, lot of different coverages,” Arizona pass game coordinator Tom Clements said. “At least up to this point, the 49ers, you know, you pretty much know what they’re going to be in. They don’t play a whole lot of different schemes, they just play what they play very well and they have very good players.”

Considering the Cardinals defense got run on by Latavius Murray and the Saints last week to lose the time of possession battle 22 minutes to 38, it’s an ominous sign that the 49ers have the capability to wear them down in the same way.

Abandoned RB room

The Cardinals will attempt to make due with three running backs navigating the abandoned and unknown hallways of the Air Raid offense after injuries hit David Johnson, Chase Edmonds and D.J. Foster.

It’s a scary thought for an offense led by a rookie quarterback in Kyler Murray.

While Johnson is listed as questionable with an ankle injury, the feeling is it would be a surprise if he were to play Thursday.

Instead, Kenyan Drake, Zach Zenner and Alfred Morris will likely be active, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said Friday.

“I think it’ll be running back by committee with those guys,” the head coach added. “We’ll get it rollin’, see where it goes.'”

The hope is the running backs aren’t spooked by a playbook that they’ve had to learn in less than two week’s time.

“It’s really nice to see some plays this week and remember them from a week ago,” Zenner said quite sarcastically on Friday.

Who’s haunting who?

The No. 1 and 2 picks from the 2019 NFL Draft square off with the Niners’ Bosa looking to make the Cardinals’ Murray see ghosts.

Both players expressed that they’ve yet to hit a rookie wall, and their improvements this year are showing that.

“I feel good. I feel better than I have throughout the whole season,” Murray said Monday. “I don’t know why. I’m actually ready to get on the field again.”

Shanahan also suggested that his first-round pick is not only holding up but getting more physically in tune as the year progresses. Bosa’s three sacks and interception last week alluded to his improving health.

“He’s gotten healthier and healthier for us each game — started the year a little bit banged up,” Shanahan said.

Tricks for treats

Like Arizona’s own offense led by Kingsbury, the 49ers are led by a progressive offensive mind who uses pre-snap gadgets to play tricks on defender’s minds.

“Kyle’s one of the masters at the screen game and dressing things up,” Kingsbury said of Shanahan.

Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said the goal of the San Francisco offense is to un-gap the opponent before the snap even happens.

Motioning players on jet sweeps freezes linebackers. Adding offensive linemen and quarterback movement after the snap in any direction might indicate a play is going toward that side of the field.

That can set up a misdirection play for a running back, tight end or underneath receiver. It at least stretches the field and gives San Francisco more favorable numbers in the box on run plays.

“Watching him through the years, no matter who his quarterback was or his personnel, he adapted to it and was able to move the football,” Kingsbury said of Shanahan. “He’s on the cutting edge of a bunch of things that you see throughout the NFL now, he kind of was at the front end of that.”

Kingsbury admits he takes a few of the best treats out of other coaches’ stashes of candy, including Shanahan’s.

“I look at everybody’s (offenses). I’m not too proud to admit that,” he said.

Witch ILB?

Tight ends have been flying by Cardinals defenders like they’re on broomsticks, and Arizona faces another challenge Thursday against George Kittle, the 49ers’ leader with 462 total receiving yards.

They do so amid a linebacker switch-up that happened a week ago against New Orleans.

Inside linebacker Haason Reddick had received 60-plus snaps in the six prior games before that plummeted to 36 snaps on Sunday. In his place, Joe Walker earned the bulk of the work in base personnel sets.

Reddick, Arizona’s 2017 first-round pick, has been battling a knee injury that’s limited him or kept him from practicing over the last few weeks. But Joseph said his drop in usage was a performance-based decision.

“I think we’re doing the best for our defense,” the defensive coordinator said. “I think Joe Walker right now has earned the right to play the base downs, and Haason is right now better at playing the sub downs. In sub, his ability to cover tight ends and to run and hit in the blitz, we can use his natural traits.

“Joe Walker has played inside backer longer than Haason Reddick has. In base downs, we’re playing Joe more with his experience seeing the jets and the motions and the crosses.”

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Spooky storylines: Cardinals host undefeated 49ers on Halloween