49ers at Cardinals: Week 18 preview, odds and injuries

Week 18 · Sun, Jan 10 · State Farm Stadium12 AM ET

at12 AMET · TBD

At a glanceUpdated Nov 10, 2026, 6:15 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers (7-1) visit the Arizona Cardinals (3-6) on Sun, Jan 10, time TBD at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ (Week 18, 2026 season).

When and where is 49ers vs Cardinals?

Sun, Jan 10, time TBD at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ.

Who is injured for 49ers vs Cardinals?

49ers: Brandon Aiyuk (WR, out, personal), Deebo Samuel Sr. (WR, questionable, hamstring), Deommodore Lenoir (CB, questionable, foot), Mike Evans (WR, questionable, achilles) and Renardo Green (CB, questionable, back). Cardinals: Bam Knight (RB, questionable, concussion), Hjalte Froholdt (C, questionable, concussion), Jayden Williams (OT, questionable, knee), Jon Gaines II (G, questionable, ankle) and Roy Lopez (DT, questionable, toe).

Cite this page

Pigskin Nightly, “49ers at Cardinals: Week 18 preview”, https://pigskinnightly.com/games/2027-01-10-sf-at-ari (updated 2026-11-10).

How we calculate Plain-text version Report an error

Regular season through week 17 · rank out of 32

Where this game will be decided

149ers dropback offense vs Cardinals pass defense
The 49ers' dropback offense ranks 1st in EPA per dropback (+0.31, 262 dropbacks) against a Cardinals pass defense ranked 31st (+0.25 allowed, 292 dropbacks faced).
1stSF offense30 spots apart31stARI defense
249ers defense against big plays vs Cardinals big-play offense
The 49ers' defense against big plays ranks 1st in explosive-play rate (4.8% allowed, 481 plays faced) and faces a Cardinals big-play offense ranked 31st (5.8%, 600 plays).
31stARI offense30 spots apart1stSF defense
349ers red-zone offense vs Cardinals red-zone defense
The 49ers' red-zone offense ranks 1st in red-zone touchdown rate (85%, 27 trips) against a Cardinals red-zone defense ranked 26th (69% allowed, 32 trips faced).
1stSF offense25 spots apart26thARI defense

When the 49ers have the ballEdge SF · +30 ranks

SF dropback offenseEPA per dropbackARI pass defense

1st+0.31262 dropbacks

SF +30

+0.25 allowed292 dropbacks faced31st

SF run gameEPA per rushARI run defense

3rd+0.02205 rushes

-0.14 allowed243 rushes faced7th

Dropbacks include sacks and scrambles; rushes are designed runs. What EPA measures.

When the Cardinals have the ballEdge SF · +13 ranks

ARI dropback offenseEPA per dropbackSF pass defense

24th-0.02386 dropbacks

SF +13

-0.01 allowed300 dropbacks faced11th

ARI run gameEPA per rushSF run defense

14th-0.06214 rushes

SF +13

-0.18 allowed181 rushes faced1st

Third downEdge SF · +20 ranks

SF third-down offensethird-down conversion rateARI third-down defense

2nd52.3%88 third downs

SF +20

43.0% allowed107 third downs faced22nd

ARI third-down offensethird-down conversion rateSF third-down defense

16th39.0%136 third downs

40.8% allowed103 third downs faced17th

Conversions are third-down snaps that gained a first down or scored.

Red zoneEdge SF · +25 ranks

SF red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateARI red-zone defense

1st85%27 trips

SF +25

69% allowed32 trips faced26th

ARI red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateSF red-zone defense

30th44%34 trips

SF +22

48% allowed25 trips faced8th

A trip is a drive with at least one snap inside the opponent's 20; the rate is trips that ended in an offensive touchdown. Small samples swing fast here.

Explosive playsEdge SF · +30 ranks

SF big-play offenseexplosive-play rateARI defense against big plays

2nd12.6%467 plays

SF +12

9.2% allowed535 plays faced14th

ARI big-play offenseexplosive-play rateSF defense against big plays

31st5.8%600 plays

SF +30

4.8% allowed481 plays faced1st

Completions of 20+ yards and runs of 10+, per snap. Definition.

Pressure & sacksEdge SF · +14 ranks

SF pass protectionsack rateARI pass rush

1st3.1% sacked262 dropbacks

SF +14

6.5% of dropbacks292 dropbacks faced15th

ARI pass protectionsack rateSF pass rush

15th6.0% sacked386 dropbacks

ARI +12

5.0% of dropbacks300 dropbacks faced27th

Sacks per dropback. The public play-by-play has no pressure charting, so this is the sack side of it only.

TurnoversEdge SF · +14 ranks

SF ball securityturnovers per gameARI takeaway defense

16th1.1 giveaways a game8 games

SF +14

0.8 takeaways a game9 games30th

ARI ball securityturnovers per gameSF takeaway defense

8th0.9 giveaways a game9 games

1.4 takeaways a game8 games10th

Interceptions and lost fumbles on offensive snaps, per game. Turnover rates are among the least stable numbers in football.

AbsencesSF 0 · ARI 0 regulars out or doubtful

49ers5 listed

0 of them are regulars ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

QRenardo GreenCB97% defense · 8 wk
QDeommodore LenoirCB95% defense · 8 wk
QDeebo Samuel Sr.WR58% offense · 5 wk
QMike EvansWR54% offense · 6 wk
OUTBrandon AiyukWRno snaps

Cardinals5 listed

0 of them are regulars ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

QHjalte FroholdtC100% offense · 9 wk
QJon Gaines IIG90% offense · 6 wk
QJayden WilliamsOT48% offense · 8 wk
QRoy LopezDT45% defense · 9 wk
QBam KnightRB23% offense · 8 wk

Snap share is the average of the weeks each player was on the field this season. Full injury report ↓

Rest & travelSame rest · SF travels 608 mi

Away49ers

7days since last game

608miles to get here

1time zones

Last: Sun wk 17 vs PHI · 21,378 mi flown this season

Normal week

Rest edgeEvensame restTravel gap 608 mi

HomeCardinals

7days since last game

0miles · home

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 17 vs LV · 10,871 mi flown this season

Normal week

League splits for these situations ↓

Sample: SF 8 games, 467 offensive and 481 defensive plays · ARI 9 games, 600 offensive and 535 defensive plays. Rank 1 is the best offense or the best defense in each stat. Keys are the largest rank gaps (12+ spots) between an offense and the defense it faces, one per stat. Ranks are not schedule-adjusted.

Season to date · rank out of 32