Cards @ Panthers

[Vin+ 3,121]

STATS LLC Associated Press

Oct 26, 2016

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A year ago, the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers met with a spot in the Super Bowl at stake.

 

On Sunday, they're simply trying to gain traction as they've encountered unexpected struggles across the first half of the season.

 

"I feel good about us coming into this stretch," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "We have a lot of really good guys in that locker room who have a lot of confidence. They work really hard. We have an opportunity now because we have some really good football players, but again we have to go and execute."

 

The Panthers (1-5), who are coming off an open date on their schedule, haven't won since the second week of the season. Arizona (3-3-1) is trying to regroup after Sunday night's bizarre 6-6 tie with the Seattle Seahawks.

 

"It's the ultimate team game for a reason," Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "It takes all three phases to win a game."

 

So now it's a rematch of last season's NFC championship game, though this matchup has a largely different vibe. Carolina won in a 49-15 romp last January in a game that Rivera acknowledged went well from the start and throughout for the Panthers.

 

That hasn't been the case during the opening weeks of this season.

 

"Now is the time that we've got to respond," Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short said.

 

Rivera has insisted that it's not too late for the Panthers to make something of the season. He pointed out that with two of the NFC South teams losing games last weekend that there's ample chance for the Panthers to factor into the divisional title.

 

"You just have to keep believing that you have an opportunity," Rivera said. "It bodes well for us as we go into this stretch of the season."

 

The Cardinals are in second place in the NFC West.

 

"Our football team is very, very resilient," Arians said. "It's a long journey to the end."

 

Arizona has the second-best defensive rating in the NFL by holding opponents to 289.6 yards per game. The Cardinals haven't surrendered a touchdown in their last two games. Carolina's offense has cranked out 371.5 yards per game for the fourth-best mark in the league.

 

Despite those numbers, the teams don't have records that correspond to those statistics.

 

The Cardinals had 90 snaps against Seattle and it still wasn't enough.

 

"We didn't get the result we want and now we have to go play the Panthers," tight end Ifeanyi Momah said.

 

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer threw 49 passes without an interception against the Seahawks. In the playoff game last season against Carolina, he was picked off four times.

 

The Cardinals lost receiver Jaron Brown to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Seattle game. On the plus side, it's possible that receiver John Brown could be back after missing a game with a leg ailment.

 

"It will be interesting to see who plays against us and what's their attitude about how they want to attack," Rivera said.

 

Panthers left tackle Michael Oher stayed in concussion protocol at the beginning of the week, so his status remains unclear although Rivera reported that significant progress has been made. Oher already has missed three games.

 

Otherwise, the Panthers report a healthy roster, aided by the week off. Rivera said he liked the attitude since the team returned from the weekend away from football.

 

"The energy level was very high," he said. "A lot of good things happen for us."

 

For the coaching staff, Rivera said the week without a game was a chance to self-scout and determine what will best suit the team for the final 10 games of the regular season.

 

"We need to put them in situations to be successful," he said.

 

After last week's Arizona result, both coaches have a tie on their career records. The Panthers tied the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014, though the 37-37 outcome was vastly different from the game the Cardinals just experienced.

 

This will be the 10th meeting in 10 seasons between the teams, who have met three times in the postseason during that span. The Panthers hold a 10-5 series edge overall.

 

The game was originally set for a late-afternoon time slot, but it was changed under the NFL's flex scheduling to the early afternoon.

 

 

[RazorStar 4,025]

Comeback trail for the Panthers starts today!

 

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[Thanatos 2,847]

Razor I hate you. Just know that.

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

Cardinals declared TE Darren Fells, TE Gerald Christian, WR Chris Hubert, OLB Alex Okafor, G/T Cole Toner, DT Olsen Pierre, DT Xavier Williams, and DT Ed Stinson inactive for Week 8 at Carolina.

Jermaine Gresham will be a full-time tight end with Fells (shoulder) down.

 

 

 

 

Panthers declared RB Cameron Artis-Payne, CB James Bradberry, LB Jeremy Cash, DT Vincent Butler, TE Chris Manhertz, TE Scott Simonson, and LT Michael Oher inactive for Week 8 against the Cardinals.

They will again run out Mike Remmers at left tackle, a concern on Cam Newton's blind side against white-hot Cardinals outside rushers Chandler Jones and Markus Golden. Artis-Payne is no longer needed with Jonathan Stewart healthy.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Oh what do you know, I was right. Within a field goal too.