49ers vs. Cardinals Point Spread: NFL Week 18 Odds, Prediction

Payton Matthews | Updated Dec 31, 2024

Two teams finishing up disappointing seasons meet on Sunday in Week 18 as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Arizona Cardinals.

AT
January 05, 2025, 4:25 PM ET
State Farm Stadium
Arizona
8-9
Pointspread +4.5 -110
Moneyline +170
Over / Under o +43
Pointspread -4.5 -110
Moneyline -210
Over / Under u +43

The Cardinals are 3-point favourites on the NFL odds. Both are long eliminated from playoff contention.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

A reminder that all NFL Week 18 games are division matchups and that the league tries to schedule playoff-relevant ones with the same kickoff time to avoid scoreboard watching. That is not relevant here, though, as both Arizona and San Francisco were eliminated from playoff contention a couple of week ago.

That the Cardinals will miss the postseason and finish with a losing record for a third year in a row isn’t a huge surprise as the team is still in a rebuild session. Arizona was set at over-under 7.5 wins on the season at most books, so this definitely has some betting relevance. 

San Francisco was set at 11.5 wins, meaning it will finish well under, and was the favourite to repeat in the NFC West and as conference champion but has been destroyed by injuries. It will be an interesting offseason there because the team has to pay QB Brock Purdy some $50 million a year or at least franchise tag him, so that means some other high-priced talent has to go for salary-cap reasons. That the Niners couldn’t win a Super Bowl while Purdy was on one of the great contracts in league history is a shame because now it only gets that much more challenging.

Arizona goes for the season sweep as it was a 24-23 upset winner in Santa Clara in Week 5 – the 49ers blew a 23-10 third-quarter lead. Chad Ryland hit what would prove to be the winning 35-yard field goal with 1:37 to go. Purdy threw a pick on the next drive to seal it.

The Niners are still 6-4 SU and 5-4-1 ATS in the past 10.  

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners lost a third straight game Monday night, 40-34, at home to Detroit and lost starting quarterback Brock Purdy to an injured right elbow late. Purdy had thrown for a career-high 377 yards and became only the third QB in team history with at least 350 passing yards, three passing TDs and a rush TD in a game. The injury is not believed to be serious – more tests on Tuesday — but it seems likely that Purdy will not play this week and either Joshua Dobbs or Brandon Allen is under centre. It probably will be Dobbs since he relieved Purdy on Monday. Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle also probably sits after reaching 1,000 yards receiving for the fourth time in his career on Monday night. There’s no point making a move now, but expect the team to make a change at kicker this offseason as Jake Moody’s struggles continued Monday with two missed field goals and a missed PAT – those six points were the difference.

Arizona Cardinals

Arizona was in good shape to reach the playoffs/win the NFC West entering its bye week at 6-4 but has just one victory since following a 13-9 loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday in Week 17. Kyler Murray threw for 321 yards and a TD but also two picks. Trey McBride had 12 catches for 123 yards and a score to become the first tight end in franchise with at least 10 catches, 100 yards and a receiving TD in a game. McBride caught his first TD of the year on his 98th reception. It would have been the most catches in a season without a TD all-time. McBride, rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (57-822-7) and Murray is a nice start for 2025 offensively. No. 1 running back James Conner reinjured his knee in the loss and surely sits in this meaningless game. Michael Carter had 70 yards on 13 carries as the primary back after Conner left. The defence has largely been the problem this year but held the Rams to just 257 yards. Expect that side of the ball to be the primary focus in the offseason. 

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win 49ers vs. Cardinals?

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