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49ers game plan vs. Arizona

Published: Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 7C
Last Modified: Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 - 10:55 am

A look at today's 49ers game vs. Arizona; including: game information, matchup to watch, three keys to the game and injury report.

49ERS GAME AT A GLANCE

Opponent: Arizona Cardinals

Time: 1:25 p.m.

Line: 49ers by 16 1/2

Records: 49ers 10-4-1; Cardinals 5-10

TV/radio: FOX40, Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Charles Davis (color); 680, 1320.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree vs. Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson

The teams' Oct. 29 meeting was Alex Smith's last full game as the 49ers' starting quarterback. He completed 18 of 19 passes, five of them to Crabtree, who finished with 72 yards and two touchdowns. Nearly all of those catches came against Peterson, a former No. 5 draft pick and Arizona's top cornerback, and he was embarrassed on national television as he struggled to keep up with Crabtree. Peterson is symbolic of a Cardinals team that has lost 10 of its past 11 games but could regain some self-respect by toppling the hated 49ers in the regular-season finale.

THREE KEYS TO GAME

• The Cardinals will start their fourth different quarterback of the season, Brian Hoyer. Look for them to try to make things easier on Hoyer by establishing the running game and for them to do that by targeting Justin Smith's replacement, Ricky Jean Francois.

• Arizona beat the 49ers last season essentially with three big pass plays. The 49ers' defense, meanwhile, has been hemorrhaging yards over the last six quarters, with each of the team's cornerbacks – Carlos Rogers, Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver – being victimized.

• The 49ers need to stay healthy. The team already is thin along the defensive line and at receiver, and San Francisco's playoff chances would dim a little more if it lost another starter against the Cardinals.

INJURY REPORT

CARDINALS

• Out: WR Early Doucet (concussion).

• Doubtful: WR LaRon Byrd (knee).

• Questionable: G Mike Gibson (calf), T Nate Potter (ankle), RB Anthony Sherman (knee), DE Ronald Talley (ankle).

• Probable: S Rashad Johnson (hamstring), S Kerry Rhodes (illness), S James Sanders (calf), CB Greg Toler

(hamstring), DT Dan Williams (hamstring), S Adrian Wilson (illness).

49ERS

• Doubtful: DT Justin Smith (elbow, triceps).

• Questionable: TE Vernon Davis (concussion), LB Clark Haggans (shoulder), DT Will Tukuafu (neck).

• Probable: LB NaVorro Bowman (wrist, shoulder), LB Ahmad Brooks (shoulder), CB Tarell Brown (shoulder, knee), LB Tavares Gooden (illness, rib), C Jonathan Goodwin (illness), RB Frank Gore (knee), G Mike Iupati (shoulder), P Andy Lee (illness), RB Bruce Miller (shoulder), S Trenton Robinson (finger), CB Carlos Rogers (knee, toe), LB Aldon Smith (shoulder), S Donte Whitner (knee).

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Read more articles by Matthew Barrows



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