Heat likely to impact 49ers in Week 5 home game vs. Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers have a significant fear as they prepare to host the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 5 matchup.
The Niners are not necessarily afraid of their opponents. The 49ers have been favored to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl while the Cardinals are coming off a 4-13 season and they have lost three of their first four games.
The problem for the 49ers is the weather. It will be unseasonably warm in Santa Clara for the team’s game at Levi’s Stadium. The weather forecast indicates that the temperature will reach the 98-degree mark on Sunday, per Weather.com. As a result, the 49ers asked the NFL if they could switch to their white uniforms instead of their traditional home uniforms that are scarlet red and metallic gold.
The league rejected the Niners and they will have to wear the darker uniforms despite the heat wave. Head coach Kyle Shanahan explained to reporters how the home team made the inquiry as well as the rationale behind the league’s response.
“We asked on Monday, and we weren’t allowed to do it,” coach Kyle Shanahan said via 49ersWebZone.com. “You had to [request] it before the season started. So in order for us to do it, we’ve kind of got to make like a conscious decision or a commitment before the year that we wear all whites until like the middle of October or whatever, and then go to normal. But it’s not usually this hot, so we’ll probably do that now just in case.”
Niners hoping to build winning streak
Even though the Niners are still considered the favorites to win the NFC championship, they have not put together a two-game winning streak yet this season. They are coming off a 30-13 triumph over the Patriots, so a victory over the Cardinals would give them their first winning streak of the season.
The schedule increases in intensity quite a bit after meeting the Cardinals as the Niners will play a road game against the Seahawks before hosting the Chiefs and Cowboys in back to back weeks before their bye week.
The Niners will be depending on quarterback Brock Purdy to launch a consistent passing attack against the Cardinals. Through the first four games, Purdy has completed 84 of 122 passes for 1,130 yards with 5 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions.
The passing attack is the key for the Niners at this point because superstar running back Christian McCaffrey remains out with tendinitis. At this point, a McCaffrey comeback in November is a strong possibility, but the Niners will have to bide their time without him.
Purdy has several targets who can do a lot of damage until then, including wideouts Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk along with tight end George Kittle, but the ground game is a struggle at this point.
