Greg Cote

Warning: Avoid this series trend like the plague in Niners-Cardinals Thursday night! | Opinion

San Francisco first-round draft pick and defensive lineman Nick Bosa (97) leads a great 49ers defense into Thursday night’s game at Arizona.
San Francisco first-round draft pick and defensive lineman Nick Bosa (97) leads a great 49ers defense into Thursday night’s game at Arizona. AP

NFL WEEK 9

GREG COTE’S THURSDAY PICK

49ERS (7-0) at CARDINALS (3-4-1)

Line: SF by 10.

Cote’s pick: SF 27-13.

TV: 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Fox/NFL.

We were a perfect 15-0 straight up on our picks last week. Can we keep the run going? As NFL Week 9 kicks off on Halloween night, I’m tired of giving safe haven to the stubbornly persisting thought, “But how good are the 49ers, really?” Answer: Quite. Will they come out of the NFC over the Packers or Saints? Not sure yet. But let’s get back to the Thursday matter at hand. Arizona rather inexplicably has beaten San Fran eight games in a row, but, as a bookie buddy of mine likes to say, “All trends, like all human life, eventually must end.” Macabre, but true! Niners’ Nick Bosa-led sack attack will be all over Kyler Murray, and good luck to ex-Dolphin Kenyan Drake running on this SF defense. Home field, division rivalry and (yes) that series trend all conspire to make you look hard at ‘Zona, maybe, but resist. This matchup fairly screams Niners.

This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 12:11 PM.

Greg Cote
Miami Herald
Greg Cote is a Miami Herald sports columnist who in 2025 won a first-place Green Eyeshade award in Sports Commentary and has finished top 10 in column writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors on multiple occasions. Greg also hosts The Greg Cote Show podcast and appears regularly on The Dan LeBatard Show With Stugotz.
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