The battle for the No. 2 seed in the NFC between the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints continues to heat up with the Saints looking better and better each week and the 49ers continuing to show their impressive defense with the best front seven in all of football.
They’ll expect to have more success this week against an Arizona offense with very few highlights this year. Defensively, however, the Cardinals have at least seen some impressive and encouraging performances, most notable on their defensive line in Calais Campbell. The Cardinals would surely love to spoil the 49ers' chances of a bye week to start the postseason with a win here.
That being said, San Francisco has yet to slip-up against a lesser opponent all year and they've only given up 23 points in the last three games. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the three areas to focus on this week.
San Francisco’s Pass Rush vs. Arizona’s Offensive Line
The 49ers boast a front seven with four players who have a pass rushing grade of +11.9 or higher, none more impressive than Justin Smith (+40.6) who has been his ever-dominant self this year. He has knocked opposing quarterbacks to the ground (hits and sacks) 14 times, but even more impressive are his 41 pressures — he has been absolutely dominant and is finally getting the recognition his play has warranted for some time. Coming in on obvious passing situations, first round pick Aldon Smith (+19.8) looks to already be the pass rusher that the 49ers hoped he would be coming out of Missouri. His best game of the season came just last week when he produced two sacks, a hit and three pressures.
While Levi Brown hasn’t had a successful season (or career if you prefer to be brutally honest) he has allowed just one sack and four pressures in the last three games which is a marked improvement on his season totals of 10 sacks, five hits and 34 pressures allowed. At right tackle, the Cardinals will start–depending on injury status–either Brandon Keith (-7.9) or Jeremy Bridges (-12.8), neither have shown anything as pass blockers as they combine to allow 10 sacks, five hits and 36 pressures from the right tackle spot. Bearing all that in mind, Kevin Kolb looks to be in for a long day.
San Francisco’s Wide Receivers vs. Arizona’s Cornerbacks
The San Francisco wide receivers have offered a mixed bag this year with Michael Crabtree (+3.7) emerging as their most reliable as the season wears on. Crabtree has caught no less than 70% of passes thrown to him for 270 yards over the last three weeks. Also stepping up recently has been second year Kyle Williams (+1.9), who has seen more of the field in recent weeks and has made the most of it. In limited duty throughout much of the year, Williams has caught an incredible 78.1% of all balls thrown his way while averaging 14.7 yards per catch.
It’s been a rough year for Patrick Peterson (-14.7), the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft may have wowed fans with his punt return skills but he has struggled as a cornerback, giving up 735 yards through the air, opposing teams are noticing this too as he has been thrown at nine times or more in four of the last five games. Opposite Peterson, Richard Marshall (-7.3) hasn’t seen nearly as many targets but is giving up 16.0 yards per catch. Combined, the two have also given up 15 penalties.
Larry Fitzgerald
I said it earlier in the year but it’s worth saying again, Larry Fitzgerald (+11.4) is doing more with very limited QB play than many with much more to work with. When you consider that his QBs have a combined PFF grade of -30.2, it really puts it all into perspective. He ranks as our sixth-best receiver this season and is pulling in receptions to an average of 17.1 yards per catch. Adding six touchdowns to just three drops (all of which occurred within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and between the hash marks), he has been successful down the field where he has caught half of all the passes thrown to him beyond 20 yards. Keep an eye on Fitzgerald on Sunday, because even without stellar QB play, he’s still getting it done.
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