San Francisco has already secured a spot in the playoffs but a first round bye and division championship are still unattained goals for Jim Harbaugh’s squad. The Niners can earn at least one of things, and potentially both, with a season finale win over NFC West rival Arizona this afternoon. Start time in today’s NFL Picks skirmish between the two familiar foes is set at 4:25pm ET; the game will be broadcast live on FOX. Cardinals vs. Niners NFL Odds are favoring San Francisco at -16.5 against the spread while the game total is set at 39 points.
San Francisco had an opportunity to lock up the NFC West title when it played at Seattle last weekend, but it got drilled 42-13 by the Seahawks.
The loss marked the fourth of the season for the Niners, and gave Seattle an opening to steal the division should it beat St. Louis and San Francisco somehow manage to lose to the hapless Cardinals.
There are a myriad of reasons to laugh off the suggestion of an Arizona victory today, but chief among them is, perhaps, how the 49ers have responded to a loss under Harbaugh. Since Harbaugh arrived in San Francisco, the Niners are 6-0 the week after a loss and they have outscored those six opponents by an average of 17.2 points per game.
Of course, Arizona plays a big role in this little story as well. The Cardinals are, arguably, the league’s worst team and they are 0-6 away from home since their utterly confounding week two win at New England. While Arizona has been competitive in some of those losses, it was embarrassed in a number of them, losing to the Rams, Packers, and Seahawks by double digits.
Certainly the line here is unappealing in either direction as no one wants to back a 16.5 point favorite, no matter how good, but jumping on a flea ridden dog like Arizona is equally as difficult. Given the two options, though, San Francisco, which actually still has something to play for, is the only way to go.
Cardinals vs. Niners NFL Picks Week 17:
Arizona Cardinals +16.5 (-110), Over 39 (-110)
San Francisco 49ers -16.5 (-110), Under 39 (-110)
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