Arizona needed OT to defeat Green Bay 26-20 on Saturday. Carolina raced out to a 31-0 lead and held off Seattle 31-24 on Sunday.
The Cardinals will want RB David Johnson to run the ball successfully but the going will be tough against the Panthers. They allowed only 88 ypg during the regular season on the ground and bottled up RB Marshawn Lynch last week. Johnson has totaled 100+ yards from scrimmage in 4-straight games as he is a good receiver. QB Carson Palmer earned his first career playoff win last week but threw 2 interceptions and had several other errant passes that could have been picked off. He’ll have to play much better against a defense that had 24 picks on the year and added 2 more last week. WRs Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd may be as good a trio of wideouts in the league but Carolina has the pass defense to deal with them. Their pass rush is the key as they can get to the QB quickly easing the pressure on their secondary. Look for the Panthers to target the left side of the o-line as LG Mike Iupati (a dominant run blocker) is a poor pass protector. LT Jared Veldheer can be had as well and they are the two players protecting Palmer’s blind side.
Carolina was happy to have RB Jonathan Stewart back last week after he had missed 3 games due to injury. He ran for 106 yards and 2 TDs against the Seahawks and look for him to be a focal point in this contest as well. Arizona limited opponents to 91 yards rushing per game but had their troubles with Green Bay (22 carries, 135 yards). QB Cam Newton is also a strong runner but he can make lots of plays from the pocket as well. While TE Greg Olsen is the top target, Newton has made reliable targets out of a group of receivers that wouldn’t start for any other NFL teams. The Cardinals will concentrate on Olsen but they have to stick with WRs Jerricho Cotchery and Ted Ginn Jr. If they play a lot of man-to-man defense, Newton will hurt them with scrambles. I expect the Cards to play man most of the time and hope that their blitzing forces Newton into quick throws.
Panthers 63% Over 65%
