Breaking News: The 49ers and Cardinals are scheduled to play a world record-breaking match, but unfortunately…..

The Cardinals have dropped their last three games against their NFC West rivals, though coming off a bye week after a nice road win in Pittsburgh could give their chances a boost.

On their lone Sunday of the season off, coach Jonathan Gannon said he was watching their next opponent.

Well, kind of.

“Yeah, a little bit. I think I got to catch a few quarters there,” Gannon said. “I was cooking Sunday sauce, so that (had) my attention but yeah, we watched it a little bit.”

San Francisco has been to three NFC title games in the last four seasons (with one Super Bowl trip) and are favored to again make a deep push in the postseason.

“They’re a consistent winner and they’re always knocking on the door. They put themselves in a position to have a chance to play meaningful football in late January so by that standard, yeah, that’s what you’re looking for,” Gannon said.

“You want to be playing meaningful games in January and you want to earn the right to play more games than 17. Obviously since (49ers General Manger) John (Lynch) and (49ers Head Coach) Kyle (Shanahan) have been there they’ve built it the right way. They had a couple of down years just to start, but then they got it going and they’re a really good football team. Their record shows it. When you watch the tape, all three phases jump out to you. They’ve got good players, they’re well coached and they win games so that’s what everybody in the NFL is trying to do.”

Not many expect the Cardinals to hang with the 49ers, as oddsmakers have them as the largest underdogs in Week 15.

Arizona hopes to become a speed bump in San Francisco’s road to the Super Bowl. Upsetting teams has been a Cardinals specialty in all three wins this season, and perhaps a fourth is brewing at State Farm Stadium.

However, it’s clear the Cardinals know exactly the uphill battle that’s ahead.