SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -When the Arizona Cardinals opened a gorgeous new stadium and a much-anticipated season, the San Francisco 49ers were the perfect patsies.
Nearly four months later, the Cardinals will return the visit - and the 49ers hope they'll return the favor.
Rumors ran wild last September that the Cardinals requested a season-opening visit from the 49ers to give them the best possible chance to christen their new suburban Phoenix palace with a victory. Though the stories apparently weren't true, these clubs' reversals of fortune are even harder to believe.
Almost nothing has gone right in Arizona (4-10) since that 34-27 opening win. And while the dark horse playoff hopefuls have made their usual trip to the glue factory, the 49ers' modest success has been more than most thought possible from their young roster.
With victories in their final two games - starting with Sunday's visit from the Cardinals at Candlestick Park - and two losses by the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco (6-8) would win the NFC West.
``I think we will be paying attention to the Seahawks,'' said quarterback Alex Smith, who's coming off the most poised performance of his career in last week's win over Seattle. ``But I think this team realizes real quick, if we don't win Sunday, then there's no point in watching the scoreboard.''
San Francisco will finish its home schedule with another game plan built around Frank Gore, the NFC's leading rusher and starting running back in the Pro Bowl. He needs 80 yards to set the 49ers' single-season franchise record.
Though accolades are piling up, Gore swears he isn't thinking past his meeting with the Cardinals, who gave up 170 total yards to the second-year pro back in the season opener.
``It really hasn't hit me yet, because we've still got two games left,'' Gore said. ``I really want to go to the playoffs now. We've lost three times against Arizona.''
Indeed, Gore and Smith still haven't beaten the NFC West's longtime lightweights in their brief careers, losing twice last year. Though the 49ers' playoff chances are slim, they went through a spirited practice in the rain Thursday, clearly believing the franchise's resurgence is real.
``Last year, we had a two-game streak to finish the season. This year, it would be nice to finish with three victories,'' coach Mike Nolan said. ``We've got tougher opponents this year than we had last year in the last two games, so it will be a bigger challenge, but we're also a better football team than we were last year at this point.''
Smith and Arizona's Matt Leinart probably would have been the top two quarterback prospects in the 2005 draft, but Leinart chose to stay at Southern California for another year, clearing the way for Smith to become the No. 1 pick.
And while Smith took his lumps with San Francisco last year, Leinart led the Trojans to the national title game before entering the draft and falling all the way to No. 10, costing himself millions of theoretical dollars.
Leinart, who has passed for at least 200 yards in eight of his 10 starts for the Cardinals, repeatedly has claimed the 49ers' lousiness wasn't the reason he stayed in school.
``You are aware of what's going on, but I never really said, 'I'm coming out because of this team, or I'm not coming out because of this other team,''' Leinart said. ``I didn't really care who was there. ... Everyone said that I could have been playing for the Niners, but maybe not. You never knew what could have happened.''
Leinart has been impressive throwing to his strong corps of receivers, but Smith is showing signs of similar growth. Though he has thrown for 200 yards just once in his eight starts since the bye week, Smith led the Niners past Seattle with a gritty fourth-quarter performance.
Arizona has won three of its last five games, highlighted by a win in St. Louis that snapped a seven-game road losing streak. Though they've lost at least 10 games for the fifth straight season, the Cards still have a chance to finish the season strong.
But Arizona's defense has allowed a conference-worst 355.8 yards per game this season, and Gore seems determined to finish the season strong behind fellow Pro Bowl selection Larry Allen.
``They are convinced that they can run the football, and no one has been able to stop them,'' said Arizona coach Dennis Green, who plans to see his leukemia-stricken former boss, Bill Walsh, during the trip. ``They have been very scrappy, and along with being scrappy, they have won close ballgames and have run the ball.''
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