NFL Week 5 - Thursday Night Football Preview

Arizona Cardinals (1-3) @ San Fransisco 49ers (1-3) - Levi Stadium

The Cardinals have a must win game against divisional rivals the 49ers on Thursday Night Football at Levi Stadium. One of the favourites for the NFC title at the start of the season, the Cardinals have flopped with back-to-back losses to the Bills and the Rams. To add to their woes, quarterback Carson Palmer is out of this game with concussion. The Cardinals do possess a viable backup in Drew Stanton. Stanton went 5-3 as a starter when Palmer was out with an ACL injury in 2014. The 49ers have fallen back on familiar hard times after an impressive opening night victory against the Rams. After an opening night shutout of Los Angeles, the 49ers defence is giving up over 35 points per game in losses to Carolina, Seattle and Dallas. They also ranked last in the league in passing with Blaine Gabbert failing to convince his detractors that he is the man to lead the team forward. 

Verdict - 49ers 20 Cardinals 17

I am going with a big upset here. Have no real confidence in the 49ers, but they have an opportunity here. I don't like tipping road teams on Thursday Night Football with the short preparation time. With their starting quarterback out, I think that gives Arizona even less time to really nail down a winning game plan here. I expect this game to be a low scoring struggle and go right down to the wire.