QB Brock Purdy expected to return from his toe injury when 49ers travel to face Cardinals

San Francisco (6-4) at Arizona (3-6)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m., EDT, Fox

NFL Odds: 49ers by 2 1/2.

Series record: 49ers lead 37-31.

Against the spread: 49ers 5-5; Cardinals 5-4.

Last week: Rams beat 49ers 42-26; Seahawks beat Cardinals 44-22.

Last meeting: 49ers beat Cardinals 16-15 on Sept. 21, 2025, in Santa Clara, California.

49ers offense: overall (11), rush (27), pass (1), scoring (23).

49ers defense: overall (21), rush (16), pass (22), scoring (15).

Cardinals offense: overall (21), rush (18t), pass (21), scoring (20).

Cardinals defense: overall (22), rush (18), pass (20), scoring (19).

Turnover differential: 49ers minus-8; Cardinals plus-3.

49ers player to watch

QB Brock Purdy. San Francisco expects to get its starting quarterback back with Purdy on target to return after missing six games with a toe injury. Purdy initially hurt the toe in the season opener and missed two games. He returned in Week 4, but struggled and re-injured the toe. Purdy’s 120.4 passer rating in four starts against Arizona is the highest for any player with at least three starts against the Cardinals.

Cardinals player to watch

WR Michael Wilson. Arizona will be without No. 1 receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. after the second-year player had surgery earlier in the week for appendicitis. That means Wilson — a third-year player out of Stanford — will be the team's No. 1 option at receiver. He has been solid throughout his career, with more than 500 yards receiving in his each of his first two seasons. He has 231 yards receiving and a TD this year.

Key matchup

Arizona's defensive line — particularly veterans Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell — have had success getting to the quarterback. Sweat has eight sacks, while Campbell has five. They'll try to get after Purdy early and often to see if he can maneuver on his injured toe.

Key injuries

49ers: Along with the expected return of Purdy, WR Ricky Pearsall is also expected to return after missing the past six games with a knee injury. ... DT Alfred Collins (hip) could return after missing last week’s game.

Cardinals: QB Kyler Murray will miss a fifth straight game because of a foot injury. He'll miss at least two more games while on injured reserve. ... WR Zay Jones (Achllies tendon) was placed on IR this week and is out for the season. ... Starting LB Mack Wilson (ribs) is out. ... LB Baron Browning (concussion), S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle), RT Jonah Williams (shoulder) and CB Will Johnson (back/hip) are among others dealing with injuries.

Series notes

The 49ers have won five of the past seven games overall between the teams. The Cardinals are 7-4 against the 49ers in the past 11 games at State Farm Stadium.

Stats and stuff

The 49ers haven’t lost consecutive games all season, winning all three times after losses so far. ... RB Christian McCaffrey is the fourth player in NFL history with at least 600 yards rushing and 600 yards receiving in his team’s first 10 games in a season. ... The Niners have no runs for at least 20 yards in the first 10 games of a season for the first time since 1986. They have had 290 consecutive carries without a run of 20 or more yards since Patrick Taylor had one in Week 18 last season against Arizona. ... San Francisco’s 94.8 yards rushing per game are the team’s worst through 10 games since 2007 (84.3). ... The minus-8 turnover margin for the 49ers is second worst in the NFL. ... San Francisco is last in the NFL with 1.2 sacks per game ... The 49ers have allowed an opening drive TD in back-to-back games after not doing it all the first eight games. They haven’t allowed an opening drive TD in three straight games in a season since Weeks 5-7 in 2014. ...San Francisco TE George Kittle had nine catches for 84 yards and a TD last week after catching only eight passes in his first three games back from a hamstring injury. ... Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett has thrown 144 straight passes without an interception, which is the fourth longest streak in franchise history. ... TE Trey McBride leads Arizona with 61 catches, 602 yards receiving and six TDs. He ranks first among NFL tight ends in catches, second in yards receiving and second in TD catches. He has had at least one TD catch in each of his last four games. ... Rookie CB Denzel Burke has an interception in each of his past two games. ... The Cardinals rank fourth in the NFL in both forced fumbles (9) and fumble recoveries (7). ... Campbell has played in 270 NFL games, ranking third all time among defensive lineman behind Jim Marshall and Hall of Famer Bruce Smith. ... Sweat has three strip-sacks this year, tied with Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson for the most sacks that force a fumble in the league. ... The Cardinals have had seven of their nine games decided by a TD or less. That's tied for the most in the league.

Fantasy tip

McBride has had another great season and could be due for a monster game with the Cardinals' top receiver Harrison on the shelf. McBride's six TD catches this season match the total number from his first three seasons combined.

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