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Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – 9/13/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers - 9/13/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction
2020-09-13 16:25:00 EDT

The Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers meet Sunday in NFL action from Levi’s Stadium. 

Arizona is coming off a disappointing season at 5-10-1 overall. That put the Cardinals in the basement of the NFC West division and out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year. As for the 49ers, they fared much better at 13-3 and an NFC West title. San Francisco marched through the Divisional Playoffs and the NFC Championship but lost a tough one in the Super Bowl 31-20 to the Chiefs. Check back all season long for free NFL picks and NFL predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

As bad as the Cardinals’ 2019 season was, it was an improvement over the 3-13 result the previous year. Arizona started out with a Week 1 tie versus the Lions, then lost three games before winning the next trio and getting back to .500 ball. The Cardinals’ success would be short-lived, as they lost their next half-dozen straight games. 

This season Arizona is looking to take another step forward toward relevance in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s second year. Longtime veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is also back alongside new arrival DeAndre Hopkins. Rookie outside linebacker Isaiah Simmons joins the team this year out of Clemson as well. 

Over on the 49ers’ side, they’re still reeling from coughing up a 20-10 lead going into the fourth quarter in the Super Bowl, their second loss there in franchise history. That effort soured an otherwise admirable season, with losses to the Seahawks, Ravens and Falcons, all by seven points or fewer. 

San Francisco enters 2020 in the fourth year under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. The team loses a few names from last season but remains largely intact and should be a force in the NFC once again. WR Emmanuel Sanders is notably gone, but first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk comes in to replace him. The Niners also added DT Javon Kinlaw out of South Carolina via the draft. 

The Cardinals are 2-0-2 ATS in their last four games as a road underdog and 2-0-2 ATS in their last four road games. Arizona is 3-1-2 ATS in their last six versus the NFC and 7-3-2 ATS in their last 12 games overall. 

Meanwhile, the 49ers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games in Week 1 and 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight versus the NFC. San Francisco is 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games as a favorite and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five versus the NFC West. 

Pick: I like San Francisco here. I’m surprised the line isn’t a little bit thicker; I’d probably be on the 49ers at anything under double-digits. That said, Arizona does have a better-looking roster these days and should make some improvements. It’ll likely take a few games to settle in however, and I think San Francisco has the advantage of familiarity. The Niners have a pretty easy schedule on paper over the first handful of games, so look for the team to get off to a hot start again. 

Andrew's Free Pick: San Francisco 49ers -7

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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