Cardinals VS. 49ers

The Arizona Cardinals were popular preseason picks for the Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers were not.

Now they’re tied for last in the NFC West and while 1-3 is a disappointing record, it is certainly more so for the Cardinals than the Niners, who meet on Thursday night.

The Niners opened the season with a 28-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and haven’t looked much like that team again. True, they held a 14-0 lead on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but they turned that into a 24-17 loss, getting hurt badly by a rookie quarterback (Dak Prescott) and running back (Ezekiel Elliott).

The Cardinals may well be without quarterback Carson Palmer (concussion protocol) against the 49ers. Injured on Sunday, can he be cleared and be clear-headed in a short week?

“Those of us in the locker room know how tough Carson Palmer is,” his backup, Drew Stanton, said. “If he can find a way to play, he’ll play.”

The Cardinals don’t have much time to turn themselves around. They play the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 23 and the Carolina Panthers – themselves somewhat disappointing but still dangerous – on Oct. 30. They’ll also be seeing the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings in November, and all of those teams are capable of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

High expectations and a slow start? We’ll that a Cardinal sin but one that can be washed away.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman