The San Francisco 49ers were without a few key playmakers on Wednesday as they continue to work through outstanding injuries. Wide receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. (rib/knee) and Jauan Jennings (shin) along with linebacker Dre Greenlaw were not out on the practice field while wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (ankle) and cornerback Ambry Thomas (knee) participated in a limited capacity. Aiyuk was wearing a blue non-contact jersey for the workout but was seen running routes and catching passes in the portion of practice open to the media.
Arizona Cardinals Scouting Report
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, much like several of his players, spent at least part of the extended weekend scouting the team's next two opponents, the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys, in their Week 3 matchup. The 49ers will host the Cardinals at Levi's® Stadium in Week 4, and next, the team is set to welcome Dallas for "Sunday Night Football."
While Arizona's 28-16 upset of the Cowboys may have caught many football fans off guard, Shanahan has never counted the Cardinals out of any of their three games this year.
"All you have to do is watch the two games before that (Sunday's upset)," Shanahan said. "They had every chance to win versus Washington in Week 1. I believe that they should have. I forget the exact score, but I want to say it was like 27-7 in the third quarter versus the Giants and they had every chance to win that.
"It got away from them at the end. Dallas was very similar, but they didn't turn it over there at the end, and they kept finishing and keeping them out of the red zone and ended up not being close. "They're a team that really should be 3-0 right now."
Arizona's racked up 222 yards on the ground against Dallas and was headlined by running back James Connor who had 14 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals second-leading rusher of the game was quarterback Joshua Dobbs. He ripped off a 44-yard gain on the way to a 55-rushing yard performance.
"He's one of the reasons they've been in every game," Shanahan said. They're really committing to the run, try not to give up explosives and keep guys out of the end zone on defense and he's not turning it over... He has been able to scramble and makes some plays. He's been very competitive in the quarterback run game when they haven't honored him."
San Francisco's Week 3 matchup was a good primer for what's to come on Sunday, and the results were even better. The 49ers defense was stingy overall, especially against the run and New York's extremely mobile quarterback. The Giants were limited to 29 rushing yards with quarterback Daniel Jones accounting for just five of them. Defensive lineman Nick Bosa is looking for similar output against Dobbs.
"He doesn't like to slide. You have to be ready to tackle him," Bosa said. "He's going to try and get extra yards like a running back. We have to pressure him. I don't think many teams have gotten good pressure on him yet."
Bosa is also keying in on Connor, who at 235 pounds, is one of the sturdier running backs in the league.
"We all respect him and how hard he plays," Bosa said. "He likes to bounce it more than you think on the edge, so we have to be ready for that."
