The Fantasy Football Matchups Breakdown delivers the stats and storylines you need to dominate the week in fantasy football. Matt Savoca breaks down all the angles on every team and every game, including 49ers first game as defending NFC champs. Jimmy Garoppolo gets a crack at beating a divisional opponent who gave them fits a season ago, the Kyler Murray-led Cardinals. For your viewing convenience, we have broken up the matchups breakdown into several single columns, each one covering a single game. You can find links to every game right here. We have 16 games on tap for Week 1 NFL DFS and NFL Fantasy Football, so let’s dive in. The entire matchups article will be available in podcast form every Friday afternoon on the Awesemo Podcast Network. Lets get into Cardinals – 49ers.
CLICK BACK to the main fantasy football matchups breakdown main page for the rest of the game-by-game analysis.
**50% OFF Awesemo+ NFL WEEKLY**
The Fantasy Football season kicks off in full on Sunday, and we’re offering you 50% off the Awesemo+ NFL Weekly Pass by 50% when you use promo code REDZONE. The Weekly Pass gets you access to Awesemo’s leading fantasy points and ownership projections, lineup builder and top stacks tool. Use promo code REDZONE before time runs out on Tuesday, 9/15/20.
For a full list of all our NFL DFS and fantasy football content this season, check out the NFL content schedule.
And don’t forget to join Matt Savoca and Dave Loughran, every Thursday morning at 11 ET on the Awesemo YouTube channel.
Cardinals (20) at 49ers (27) – Sunday 9/13/2020, 4:25 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Football Matchups and NFL DFS Breakdown
Arizona finished 2019 at an abysmal 2-7, and yet Vegas has an extremely rosy outlook for the Cardinals in 2020. Their projected win total is up to 7.5 (they only won five games in 2019), likely due to a presumed second-year-leap for 2019 Rookie of the year Kyler Murray and the addition of DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans. Hopkins hasn’t been able to practice on a consistent basis this offseason (hamstring), and while some speculated he was less hurt and more interested in a new deal, Hopkins himself publicly refuted that notion, then signed a deal this week that made him the highest paid receiver in the league. He’s expected to suit up and receive a full snap share Sunday. From a volume perspective, even if Hopkins is at or near 100%, fantasy gamers should not expect the same level of volume in the Cardinals Air Raid offense, led by coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Traditionally in the Air Raid, the ball is spread among play makers with less of a concern about run/pass splits, which is great for overall efficiency but not as great for fantasy players who crave guaranteed volume for consistent fantasy football output. There’s almost no way Hopkins will command the same 10.0 targets per game he saw last season, but the quality of his looks should remain high, meaning he’ll still be a threat for seven catches and 100 yards on a weekly basis, he’ll just need to be efficient to do so.
Running back Kenyan Drake, himself traded to the Cardinals last season, looked like one of the best running backs in football down the stretch. He was a top-24 running back in six of eight starts as a Cardinal last season, including three games in the top three. In fact, Cardinals backs David Johnson, Chase Edmonds and Drake combined for nine weeks in the top 12 fantasy finishes at the position. If Drake can stay healthy, he should receive the requisite volume to be a top-five back in fantasy. If Murray’s passing efficiency takes the next step and Drake’s red zone touches increase (he was No. 32 last season), Drake could wind up being a fantasy-league winner, and it could start right here in Week 1 against a team he gashed for an average of 121 total yards in two matchups last season. Edmonds should spell Drake for 6-8 touches with a few targets as well.
San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Football Matchups and NFL DFS Breakdown
Besides their inability to stop Drake and the Cardinals in two matchups last season, the 49ers were one of the top defensive units in the NFL a season ago. After ranking ninth and second in Football Outsiders’ Rush DVOA and Pass DVOA, respectively, San Francisco returns almost every key starter for a defensive unit that led them to the precipice of a championship last season. De’Forest Buckner (traded) will be tough to replace, but the team has sky-high hopes for 2020 first-rounder Javon Kinlaw, who will likely replace the hole filled by Buckner. More likely than not, we will see a unit very closely resembling the 2019 squad and not the one that seemed to have no answer for Murray, Drake and Kingsbury.
The 49ers lack depth at the wide receiver position, even after drafting ASU’s Brandon Aiyuk in the first round. This deficiency was exposed this preseason first when Deebo Samuel went down with a Jones fracture, then Aiyuk went down with a mid-grade hamstring strain, and then the team lost Jalen Hurd for the season (ACL). Remarkably, Samuel appears to be on track to play (though productivity can be limited early on, Jones fractures do not appear to have particularly high fracture rates when treated correctly).
All of this adds up to George Kittle being the undisputed target leader in Garoppolo’s receiving corps. His 7.6 targets per game were good enough for fourth at the position a year ago, but with the receivers as banged up as they are, he could easily push for 9-12 targets this week. Beyond Kittle, look for coach Kyle Shannahan to get creative incorporating Jordan Reed, whom Shanahan coached in Washington and is a year removed from concussion-related injuries. Also watch out for Jerick McKinnon, signed in 2018 but yet to suit up for San Francisco. Kendrick Bourne and backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman will also be involved.
The running game will remain a major focal point in the 49ers gameplan, led by the aforementioned Mostert and Coleman. Expect a 60/40 split, with Jeff Wilson possibly mixing in (disastrously for fantasy) near the goal line. The 49ers were 30th in pace of play last season and rely on efficiency and chunk plays, so it will be up to Shanahan’s scheme and Garoppolo’s accuracy (No. 3 in true completion percentage, via PlayerProfiler) to keep the young Arizona defense off balance.
Prediction: 49ers 27, Cardinals 21
Alternative Scenario: The Cardinals have the 49ers number. Hopkins goes off in the first half, and Drake goes off in the second. Cardinals 30, 49ers 21.
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT GAME
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
Looking for more NFL DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NFL home page, just click HERE. Don’t forget to check out the loads of free content on our Fantasy Football home page, including more fantasy football breakouts. Sign up for just $29.95 (includes a $35 credit at FFPC for new users). Sign up HERE!
