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Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell (93) celebrates his sack with teammate Budda Baker (3) as they play against the Carolina Panthers at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cardinals Will Make Unique History vs 49ers

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 2:36 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals are the away team in Week 3's tilt against the San Francisco 49ers, though the organization will be wearing their all-red looks on the road - which will be a first.

From 49ers reporter David Lombardi:

"Sunday will be a visual trip: The road team will be wearing red at a 49ers’ home game for the first time ever. SF elected to wear road white jerseys to better deal with potential heat; Cardinals will be in their home reds at Levi’s."

San Francisco will wear their throwback white uniforms:

TBT with it @calottery | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/Aqgg0Jisib
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 18, 2025

This will be the first time the Cardinals are wearing their home looks playing away from State Farm Stadium in 2025, though it won't be their last. Arizona will also be in their red uniforms for Monday Night Football's battle against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.

All other instances will be home games against the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams.

Arizona's new rivalry uniforms will be worn just once this year, which comes just a few days after this Sunday when they play host to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in Week 4.

All-black uniforms will be broken out twice this year, coming in home games against the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco.

All other matchups will feature their icy-white uniforms, which does feature a home date against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16.

Cardinals Preparing for 49ers Battle

The Cardinals are hoping to reach 3-0 in the win/loss column, getting a bit of good news yesterday with those hopes as the 49ers aren't expecting typical starting quarterback Brock Purdy to play.

Mac Jones will be the guy for San Francisco, who drew high praise from Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon:

“I thought he played well last game. He's obviously smart. He’s got talent. Obviously, where he was drafted and what he’s done in his career already. Quick processor, accurate and more mobile than you think. He'll stand in there, take shots and deliver the football accurately. He played well," Gannon said of Jones.

The 49ers' offense will likely operate heavily through Christian McCaffrey - one of the best running backs in the league:

“Yeah, he is a game changer. We talked about that in the meeting today. He’s a really good football player, both in the run and pass game. He's hard to tackle. He’s got great vision, great acceleration and he can hit home runs. He is a matchup nightmare," Gannon continued.

"He's one of the premier guys in this league and I think offensively how they use him is very creative and cutting edge and it can cause some problems, there's no doubt. We have to be very aware of where he is when they deploy him in different ways. Who's on him and where your help is. We definitely have to have a plan for him.”