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Struggling Panthers look to beat Cardinals on Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 10/28/2016  at  4:55:00 PM
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ARIZONA CARDINALS (3-3-1)
at CAROLINA PANTHERS (1-5)

Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Carolina -3.0, Total: 47.5

The Panthers will be hoping to get their season back on track with a win over the Cardinals on Sunday.

The Cardinals are coming off of a brutal game against the Seahawks last week, as K Chandler Catanzaro was unable to make a chip shot overtime field goal that would have won Arizona the game. The teams instead tied that one and the Cardinals are definitely not happy about that result. They had a golden opportunity to get over .500 and will now need a win against a well-rested Panthers team in order to do so. Carolina is having a nightmare of a year after losing in the Super Bowl last season, but the team knows that it can get hot at any moment and a win on Sunday would surely help. One thing the Panthers do have going for them is the fact that they are 2-0 both SU and ATS when facing the Cardinals over the past three seasons. One of those wins was a 49-15 beatdown over the Panthers in the NFC Championship last year. Arizona is, however, 7-0 ATS in road games after outgaining its opponent by 100 or more total yards in two consecutive games since 1992 and 8-1 ATS in road games after allowing 75 or fewer rushing yards in its previous game over the past three seasons. WR Michael Floyd (Hamstring) is questionable for the Cardinals in this game and they could really use him. WR Jaron Brown (Knee) is out for the team, so Arizona is very thin at the wide receiver position.

The Cardinals can’t possibly be happy with their tie against the Seahawks last week, but at least they didn’t come away with a loss either. They now face a Panthers team that has really struggled this season and they’ll need to win this one. QB Carson Palmer (1,705 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT) must play a good game on Sunday, but he’ll definitely be having some bad thoughts when he sees the Panthers across the field. Carolina destroyed him in the playoffs a year ago, picking Palmer off four times in the game. If he does not take care of the ball on Friday then the Cardinals are going to fall to 3-4-1. Arizona does have RB David Johnson (681 yards, 8 TD), though. Johnson just might be the best back in football and the Cardinals could opt to lean on him in this one. If he is running the ball well then there will be less pressure on Palmer to make risky throws. Defensively, shutting down the run will be the top priority for Arizona. If they can limit this Panthers offense to just throwing the ball then they will be in a lot better shape. It’s when Newton is out of the pocket that he is most dangerous.

The Panthers are 1-5, but they are still a very dangerous team. QB Cam Newton (1,296 yards, 8 TD, 6 INT) is one of the best quarterbacks in football, and he’ll look to really be aggressive against Arizona on Sunday. Newton threw for 335 yards with two touchdowns against the Cardinals in the NFC Championship last year and also rushed for 47 yards and two scores in that game. He’ll need to make plays through the air and on the ground this weekend. Defensively, the Panthers might not get the same exact results against Carson Palmer that they did last year, but they should still be able to make him uncomfortable in this one. CB Josh Norman is gone, but this team is still very talented and they clearly saw some things on tape that they were able to do in that game. They’ll just need to try to exploit Palmer’s mistakes again. Carolina will, however, need to find a way to contain David Johnson in this game and that was not something the team had to do a year ago. Johnson is enjoying a breakout season, but the Panthers should be able to win if they can stop the run.


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