The San Francisco 49ers head into Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals at 7-0 and as major favorites to finish the first half of their schedule undefeated.
While most in the national media have taken note of the 49ers’ surprising success, some believe that they have played a cupcake schedule.
We can now add Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu to that group.
San Francisco’s defense has been utterly dominant through seven games, yielding an average of 11 points per outing. The team has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 207-77.
Though, there is some merit to their schedule. The 49ers have beaten teams with a combined 15-30 record. It has not been the greatest of competition.
We will say that San Francisco’s two wins against teams in playoff contention, the Rams and Panthers, have come by a combined score of 71-20. That included a 51-13 blowout win last week over a Panthers squad that had won four consecutive.
There’s good new on this front. Following Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, San Francisco embarks on a five-game stretch that includes games against the Seahawks (6-2), Packers (7-1), Ravens (5-2) and Saints (7-1). We’ll know soon enough just how real this team is.