The San Francisco 49ers enter Thursday night's game with a perfect 7-0 record. The Arizona Cardinals enter the game 3-4-1 and coming off a 31-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Before that, Kliff Kingsbury's squad had won three straight games.
Kingsbury has a difficult task ahead of him this week. He has to game plan against a 49ers defense that is dismantling opponents and ranks high in nearly every statistical category.
The Cardinals coach jumped on a conference call with Bay Area reporters on Tuesday morning and discussed the upcoming matchup. Kingsbury couldn't identify which task was more challenging to prepare for — going up against the 49ers offense or defense.
"They're both playing at elite levels," Kingsbury told reporters. "Kyle (Shanahan) is one of the best offensive minds in football; has been for a long time. They have that thing rolling right now, offensively. The run game, the play-action stuff, Jimmy (Garoppolo) is playing at a high level.
"Defensively, they're as good as anybody in the league, playing with a lot of confidence. That front seven is dominant, and it shows up week in and week out."
Kingsbury was asked if his athletic rookie quarterback, Kyler Murray, is uniquely equipped to handle the 49ers defensive line.
"I don't know that anybody is, the way they're playing right now," Kingsbury responded. "They've really dominated up front. Every team they've faced got constant pressure. Even if they're not getting home, there's pressure, and they're making the guy move off his spot, making him uncomfortable in the pocket.
"We're going to have to have a great plan. We're going to have to find a way to protect Kyler, and he's got to be smart with the football."
Added Kingsbury: "We'll have a plan in place to try to maximize who we are as an offense, but, like I said, we know it's a tall challenge."
The Cardinals selected Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. The 49ers selected defensive end Nick Bosa with the very next pick.
Kingsbury praised Bosa, saying the Cardinals were on board with potentially drafting him. While Bosa is primarily an edge rusher with San Francisco, the coach could have envisioned the first-year defender playing WILL or SAM linebacker in Arizona — but that wouldn't have necessarily been his only role.
"We ended up taking Kyler," Kingsbury added. "We thought that was the best move for our organization, but we knew whoever was going to get Nick was going to get a dominant player in this league."
