Preview: San Francisco 49ers (1-7) at Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1)

In many ways, 2016 has been worst case scenario at every possible turn, and it's getting harder and harder to find anything positive these days about the San Francisco 49ers (1-7). The offense has been bad for the most part, the defense might set all-time marks for futility, and the coaching staff looks lost, especially in the second half of games. All fans can hope for now, is that some of the young talent starts to find their stride, preferably beginning this week against the Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1).

Recent History

How can anyone forget the epic Thursday night matchup when QB Blaine Gabbert locked horns with QB Drew Stanton? Oh, you put that out of your memory? Well, it wasn't that long ago, Week 5 in fact, and it would be the game that caused the 49ers to bench Gabbert. The score was actually tied 7-7 at the half, but Arizona came on strong in the third quarter and built a 21-7 lead behind RB David Johnson and WR Larry Fitzgerald. Ultimately, the Cards would ride Johnson's 157 yards rushing to a 33-21 win. Gabbert's inaccuracy was his undoing, as he missed multiple open receivers. Who knows, if he hits on a few of those passes, maybe he's still starting.

Players to Watch

WR Quinton Patton had his best game as a pro in Week 9, catching six balls for 106 yards.The 49ers are desperate to find a consistent playmaker on the outside, so they'll have to hope Patton's big game was a sign of things to come and not just an outlier performance. Prior to his breakout, Patton has 19 catches for 186 yards all season, so it's not as if he was lighting it up. It will be interesting to see if QB Colin Kaepernick continues to heavily target Patton, or if he sort of falls back into the shadows.

It seems like every week we highlight the opposition's running back, but until the 49ers prove they can actually stop the run, it's justified. Johnson is on pace for a 1,400-yard season, and he (as mentioned above) gashed the 49ers earlier in the season. It seems likely that he'll be the eighth back in a row to reach 100 yards against San Francisco, as they continue to add to their dubious record.

Stats to Know

Kaepernick came into Week 9 with 330 yards passing over his first two games but exploded for 398 against the New Orleans Saints. Was it just Fool's Gold? Probably. If you look at Kaepernick's 2015 season, he had some very good statistical games then as well, but still struggled with consistency. In Weeks 2, 5, and 6, Kaepernick actually averaged 312 yards passing and had a 65% completion rate. He also threw all six of his touchdown passes for the season in those games. In the other five contests, he averaged 135 yards passing and his completion percentage dropped to 53%. He had zero touchdown passes and five interceptions. Over his last 16 games, Kaepernick is 3-13 as a starter and is averaging 193 yards through the air while completing 57% of this throws. He has 14 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

"It probably was the worst game of my career," Kaepernick said this week when asked about the last time he faced the Cardinals in Arizona. "So, it's a good opportunity to go back, redeem myself and try to help get this team back on track. Looking at film, they're a team that they know what they want to do and they do it well. So, that's something that we have to be able to go out, be on top of everything we're doing and win one-on-one matchups"

RELATED PFF grades Colin Kaepernick as the 2nd worst passer in the NFL

Game Changing Factor

Under defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil, the 49ers are on pace to have one of the worst defenses in NFL history. With 260 points allowed through eight games, the Niners are on pace to give up 520 this season, which would only be 13 less than the 1981 Baltimore Colts who gave up the most all-time at 533. Actually, if you take away the Week 1 shutout, the 49ers are actually giving up 37.5 per game, so if everything stays status quo, they'll probably break that record. To make matters worse, the 49ers have also allowed 1,544 yards rushing, which would equal out to 3,088 over a full season. They might give the 1978 Buffalo Bills a run for their money in that department, as that squad gave up the most in NFL history with 3,228. It's tough to win when you have to drop 35 points just to stay in the game.

RELATED Under Jim O'Neil, the 49ers have one of the worst defenses in NFL history

News from the Week

The biggest story was that DE Arik Armstead was placed on Injured Reserve. He had been playing through a shoulder injury, that he suffered in training camp, all season. The injury will require surgery to properly heal.

RELATED 49ers place DE Arik Armstead on IR, claim DT Chris Jones off waivers

Rookie CB Will Redmond returned to the Injured Reserve list after practicing with the team and trying to make the active roster. Chip Kelly said on Wednesday that he was medically cleared to play, but did not feel that he was at 100%. Redmond suffered an ACL tear during a Mississippi State practice on October 22 on 2015, continuing a troubling trend by Baalke of selecting injured players.

The 49ers promoted WR Chris Harper from the practice squad to the active roster. The team also signed DT Chris Jones, who joined the team on Wednesday morning.

By the Numbers

With 3 made FGs this week, K Phil Dawson would become the 10th kicker in NFL history to reach 400 career made field goals.

The 49ers offense has converted on 87.5% of their 3rd-and-1 attempts, ranking 3rd in the NFL (Arizona at 92.3 and New Orleans at 88.9).

TE Vance McDonald is the 4th tight end since the merger in 1970, and the first since 1997, to register two touchdown receptions of 65-or-more yards in the same season.

Matchup Information

Kickoff: Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 1:25 p.m. PT

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

All-Time Matchup: 49ers lead series 29-21

Last Meeting: 10/6/16, Cardinals win 33-21, at SF

Current Streak: Lost 3

Betting: The Cardinals are 13-point favorites

NFL Fan Picks: 83% pick the Cardinals to win according to Yahoo! Sports

49ers Fan Picks: Within our Pick 'em Contest, 89% believe the Cardinals will win

49ers Schedule: View full schedule

Cardinals News: Cardinals news at Problitz.com

Follow Game Online: NFL.com's Game Center

Discuss: Niner Talk forum

Follow Us: Facebook, Twitter, Google+

Television and Radio

The game will be televised on FOX (Check 506 Sports to see if it is local).

Play-By-Play: Chris Myers
Color Analyst: Ronde Barber
Sideline Reporter: Jennifer Hale

KGO 810 AM and The Bone 107.7 FM (Other markets) will carry the radio broadcast with Ted Robinson doing the play-by-play and Tim Ryan as the color analyst. ESPN Deportes and KKSF 910 AM will carry the Spanish broadcast.

San Francisco 49ers Injuries

Out
LB Aaron Lynch (ankle)

Questionable
RB Carlos Hyde (shoulder), CB Rashard Robinson (back), WR Torrey Smith (knee)

Arizona Cardinals Injuries

Out
S Tyrann Mathieu (shoulder), CB Tharold Simon (ankle)

Questionable
LB Alex Okafor (calf)

Game Averages (Rank)

Individual Statistics

Ticket Stats

• TicketIQ has tracked seven 49ers at Cardinals games and this game has the third-lowest average price ($147) and second-cheapest get-in price ($46)
• This is the least expensive 49ers away game remaining this season.
• For travelers, hotels in Phoenix on Priceline start at $49 (cheapest), with five-star hotels starting at $359.
• Parking in Glendale starts at $26 according to ParkWhiz.com