In the first division game for both the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals, both teams will be going into the game at much less than full strength. Even with both teams at less than 100% it is sure to be an extremely physical and tough matchup.

Patrick Peterson vs. Michael Crabtree

In what’s going to be one of the marquee matchups in this game, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson is going to be on 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree a lot in this game. Peterson is one of the best cornerbacks in the league but over the past few years Crabtree has had his number. In the one game against the Cardinals that Crabtree played in last season he had three targets with two receptions for 24 yards against Peterson. That was with Crabtree not being anywhere near full strength due to an Achilles injury that had kept him out for most of that season. In 2012 when Crabtree was completely healthy, he had a total of eight targets with seven receptions for 138 yards and four touchdowns. Crabtree will be looking to have the same kind of success this Sunday after having two average games so far this season. Peterson, on the other hand, will be looking to make it three straight average games for Crabtree to start off the year.

Drew Stanton Against San Francisco Banged Up Secondary

As of right now the 49ers’ best cornerback, Tramaine Brock, is listed as Questionable to play on Sunday. This is not good news for the 49ers because that means Perrish Cox will be the other starter opposite of Chris Culliver. Cox didn’t have a terrible game against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, but with receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, you want your secondary to be as strong as possible.

The good thing for their secondary is that Drew Stanton will be starting for the Cardinals. Stanton had a pretty average game against the New York Giants last week. Stanton did the worst when he wasn’t blitzed and there was no pressure on him. That’s good for the 49ers because they don’t like to blitz many people and it allows them to keep some extra players back in coverage. If the Cardinals want to come away with a win they’re going to have to hope that Stanton can keep away from pressure, make the right decisions, and make good throws.

49ers Run Game

The 49ers haven’t been running the ball as much as they usually do. In Week 2 against the Bears they got away from their run game a little bit. But 49ers running back Frank Gore is averaging 4.3 yards per carry still. This offense is built around having a successful run game, so if the 49ers want to get back on the winning track they’re going to have to get Gore going early and often.

What will help them do that is that the Cardinals are missing defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and inside linebacker Daryl Washington. Both of these players were extremely good defenders who play right in the middle of the defense. Gore is averaging six yards per carry when running on either side of the left guard. You can bet he’s going to be testing those gaps a lot on Sunday. Something else that will hurt the Cardinals is that outside linebacker John Abraham is now out for the season. He’s mostly known for his pass rush but in the 37 plays he was actually in for this season he did better against the run than he did rushing the passer.

Will Colin Kaepernick Bounce Back?

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick certainly didn’t have the best game of his career last week against the Bears. This week he’s going to be looking to bounce back in a big way. He’s had pretty good success in the past against the Cardinals and this week I don’t think it’s going to be any different. Also, it’s not very often Kaepernick has two bad games in a row. If the 49ers can get the run game going early, look for the 49ers to complete come short passes early to get Kaepernick in a rhythm. If this happens, it’s going to be a long day for the Cardinals secondary.

When looking at these two teams on paper it’s hard not to choose the 49ers. They’re a deeper team than the Cardinals and in today’s NFL it all comes down to the quarterback. When comparing Colin Kaepernick to Drew Stanton it’s not even close. Even though the rosters are very similar, I still think the 49ers end up winning this game by a touchdown and getting back in the win column.