Photo credit: si.com

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA–The Niners are no longer undefeated, and with only a one-game advantage on the Seattle Seahawks, they need to get back down to business this weekend with the Arizona Cardinals in town. Arizona’s season is beginning to slip away, thanks to a quick three-game skid that finds them at the bottom of the NFC West.

The 3-6-1 team is better than their record indicates as we saw two weeks ago in Thursday night’s 28-25 Halloween scare. San Francisco can’t afford to take Arizona lightly, a team that they haven’t beaten at home since 2014, Levi’s inaugural season.

This time of year, injuries will always be the key storyline. San Francisco struggled on offense against the Seahawks without George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders. A slight dip to their third-down conversion seemed to be the difference between a win and a loss, and the 49ers could be without their top two targets again this weekend.

Sanders, who sustained a rib injury in Monday’s loss, has yet to practice this week and appears to be out on Sunday. He’s shown quick chemistry with Garoppolo and owned Arizona in their opening meeting, catching seven balls for 112 yards. The sure-handed receiver will be greatly missed, especially after Monday’s nine-drop debacle.

Meanwhile, Kittle practiced for the first time on Thursday since sustaining his knee injury against the Cardinals. He was limited, but it was a good sign to see him back on the practice field in Santa Clara. His status for Monday is still questionable.

On top of possibly being without their top two targets come Sunday, Matt Breida’s ankle injury will keep him out the next couple of weeks, as he reaggravated it on Monday. The 49ers’ offensive attack could look greatly diminished against the Cardinals, which should scare those that realize it took everyone to win the first time around.

San Francisco finished with 411 total yards in their win against the Cardinals, and if you take out Kittle, Sanders, and Breida, they’re left with 142 yards. Taking away 62% of their total offense is going to be challenging to overcome. They’ll need to find more production out of Tevin Coleman and Deebo Samuel to battle for a win. Samuel is coming off his breakout game, catching eight balls for 112 yards.

On top of the critical skill position injuries, the Niners will go back to being without Joe Staley, who broke a couple of fingers in Monday’s loss. Insert Justin Skule, who’s been a great surprise sliding in for Staley’s absence earlier in the year. The sixth-round rookie did a fabulous job defending Garoppolo’s blindside.

If Kyle Shanahan can game plan once again around all these injuries, San Francisco should be okay. They’ve shown different ways to win all season, and this Sunday could be his biggest test yet. With zero wiggle room atop the NFC West, now is not the time for a monumental slip-up.