49ers will be without Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel vs. Cardinals

Jimmy Garoppolo will go into Week 1 without two of his best wide receivers. Neither Deebo Samuel nor Brandon Aiyuk will play against the Cardinals.

Don’t look for Jimmy Garoppolo to put up video game numbers against the Cardinals secondary. The San Francisco quarterback will go into his Week 1 matchup without the services of Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk at the wide receiver position.

Coming into Sunday, the 49ers knew they wouldn’t have the services of Samuel. The team put him on Injured Reserve with a foot injury on Saturday. That means the earliest he’ll be eligible to return to the active roster will be in Week 4.

The organization still had hope that Ayik would be able to recover in time to pick up the slack for the team’s opening game. Instead, he’ll be inactive heading into the afternoon contest. That will put a ton of pressure on the San Francisco offense to find other ways to score on Sunday.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will likely lean heavily on his run game to keep up with the Cardinals offense. He’s one of the most creative play-callers in the NFL when it comes to finding new ways to get his running backs advantageous matchups on the ground. The Arizona defense should be prepared to see a variety of exotic running plays on Sunday as a result.

The key for the 49ers will be to make sure Aiyuk gets back into the lineup before he’s forced to miss more regular-season action. His ability to give the team a balanced passing attack is vital to their hopes of returning to another Super Bowl this season.