Five 49ers to watch in Sunday’s NFC West matchup vs. Cardinals

The 49ers open a stretch of back-to-back NFC West games, followed by high-profile games against Kansas City and Dallas. After going 2-2 to open the 2024 NFL season, the 49ers need to string some wins together if they have any hopes of repeating as the NFC's No. 1 seed. They have to take care of business Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium before heading to Seattle for a quick turnaround game Thursday. The Seahawks lead the division with a 3-1 record. At this point, the 49ers do not know whether tight end George Kittle (ribs) or linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) will be available. So they might need some others to step up. Here are five players to watch for the 49ers against the Cardinals: RT Colton McKivitz Colton McKivitz is four games into his second season as the 49ers' starting right tackle, and this year has started much better than a year ago. In his first game after replacing Mike McGlinchey, McKivitz surrendered three sacks to Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt to open the 2023 season. This season, McKivitz has been beaten for one sack in four games — though that was a sack-strip against the Los Angeles Rams that resulted in a turnover late in the first...