San Francisco is a short ‑2 favorite, letting Tuley boost Arizona to +8, his favorite leg of the week. The Cardinals nearly squandered a late lead versus Carolina but still covered, and he anticipates another close NFC West tilt. He is pairing Arizona with every other qualifying side on his card.

Everett laid 1.5 with San Francisco, convinced Kyle Shanahan can keep the offense humming with Mac Jones (or a soon-to-return Brock Purdy) alongside Christian McCaffrey. He cites the revenge angle after Arizona’s season sweep capped by a 47-24 Week 18 humiliation. Facing the best defense the Cardinals have seen, Everett predicts Joshua Dobbs and company will stall, giving the 49ers a comfortable win relative to the short spread.

Even if Brock Purdy (toe) sits, Bender trusts San Francisco as a one-point home dog. He reminded readers that Mac Jones stepped in with 279 yards and three TDs last week and expects another heavy Christian McCaffrey workload in a series where eight of the last nine meetings have been decided by one score. Kyle Shanahan is exactly .500 ATS as a home underdog, but Bender believes the defense and CMC tilt this coin-flip 24-20.

Dabbundo took San Francisco ‑2.5, arguing that Arizona’s 2-0 start is fool’s gold—its net success rate is still negative, and against a shared opponent the 49ers posted a 47.1 % success rate versus the Saints to Arizona’s 39.1 %. The Cardinals cannot run even on Carolina’s porous front and now face Kyle Shanahan’s offense with a secondary held together by duct tape: starters Max Melton, Garrett Williams and rookie Will Johnson all exited Week 2, and previous starters Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas were already sidelined. Dabbundo doubts the market is fully pricing that cluster injury. Mac Jones was efficient in his 49ers debut and only needs to be competent against a decimated back end. With home-field and a massive matchup edge, he’s happy to lay less than a field goal.