The NFL is showcasing its annual game played at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City to conclude the slate of Week 11 actions. Technically this is a home game for the Arizona Cardinals, but it will play out as more of a neutral site for the San Francisco 49ers.
This NFC West matchup is wildly important for both team, but for differing reasons. Starting with the 4-6 Cardinals, they are flirting with the season being a lost one. A loss would drop them 2.5 games behind two teams in the division, and set them back on divisional tie breakers as well. This is must win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The game is not as crucial for the 5-4 49ers in terms of their playoff hopes, but could go a long way in determining their chances at winning the NFC West. A win would move them into a tie with the Seahawks while a loss would put them a game back.
The 49ers are the healthier team and the Cardinals are up against it. Kyler Murray is not expected to play, so it will likely be Colt McCoy under center. Receiver Deandre Hopkins is likely to play, but likely at less than 100%. The expectation would have been for the 49ers to be favored in any event, but given the state of the Cardinals, the 49ers have ballooned to rightful 10 point favorites.
Deebo Samuel Player Prop Bet & Pick
The 49ers offense has a new look since the acquisition of Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has been exceptional as a 49er in a small sample size. The team also got Eli Mitchell back from injury a weeks ago and ran a very running back centric offense with both players available. Both running backs saw 20 opportunities, when adding carries plus targets in that game. That left only 20 more targets available for the entire remainder of the offense on Garoppolo’s 28 passing attempts. This has long been the preferred approach of head coach Kyle Shanahan, and he now has the personnel to do it.
Surprisingly, it has been wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk that has not lost opportunity. The losses in targets have been on the Deebo Samuel and George Kittle side. Since the arrival of McCaffrey and return of Mitchell, both of their involvement has suffered. In those two games Samuel has missed one and had just two catches for 24 yards in the other. Kittle has seen just seven targets over two games, turning them to four catches for a combined 60 yards.
While it appears to be Samuel that will suffer most, unders on Kittle props are attractive as well. Starting with Samuel, his totals are set at 4.5 receptions and 52.5 receiving yards. We are certainly going to attack unders on both of those. For Kittle, he is set at 3.5 receptions and 41.5 receiving yards. Those are unders to attack if you are looking for additional action on Monday night.
Betting Picks: Deebo Samuel Under 4.5 receptions and under 52.5 receiving yards.