End of Game: Thank you for joining the coverage of the game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, Make sure to join the next game on the schedule between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers here at VAVEL USA.
End of Game: The VAVEL Usa player of the game from tonight's contest is Luke Keuchly. He had a key interception and the deflection to another one. He was the best player for the Carolina defense that rocked the Arizona Cardinals from start to finish.
4Q 0:01 - They try to do a hook and lateral, but it is miserable, they end up losing a ton of yards as it doesn't matter what Arizona did on offense, they could do anything all game long. Carolina Panthers win the game 27-14.
4Q 0:03 - There was a fair catch called on the return so Arizona gets one final play.
4Q 0:11 - Nortman runs around and then jumps out of the back of the end zone with 3 seconds left which is a safety.
4Q 0:11 - Running the clock as much as they can and they call their final timeout.
4Q 0:59 - Stewart gets one yard back to the 8 yard line. Hopefully the punter doesn't drop the ball this time or the score should be final.
4Q 0:59 - Carolina has decided to take their second timeout as there is very little time left in this contest.
4Q 1:47 - Stewart loses 3 yards on the rush and they are just trying to run the clock at this point.
4Q 1:55 - Stewart rushes forward for no gain and the Cardinals use their final timeout.
4Q 2:03 - Luke Keuchly with a big deflection in front of Larry Fitzgerald near the goal line where it is intercepted by the Carolina Panthers cornerback Boston, and returned out to the 10 yard line.
4Q 2:22 - John Brown with a reception to the 26 yard line for a first down.
4Q 2:49 - Nortman drops the snap on the punt and runs forward for a gain of a few yeards and Arizona has the ball at the Panthers 47 yard line.
4Q 3:01 - Mike Tolbert and the Panthers special teams did an excellent job as they down the ball at the one yard line. Personal foul facemask call on Mario Addison. There will be a rekick.
4Q 3:01 - Bruce Arians and the Arizona Cardinals decide to use their second timeout anyway, despite the fact that they have been able to do almost nothing on offense in the second half.
4Q 3:37 - Stewart is unable to pick up the 2 yards on the ground and the Panthers will punt.
4Q 4:27 - Stewart keeps fighting forward for yards and get 6 on the carry. Makes it third and 2.
4Q 5:12 - Stewart rushes forward for 2 yards to the 50 and it's second and 8.
4Q 5:48 - Ryan Lindley is sacked by Charles Johnson again all the way back to the 14 yard line. 4th and 21 and Bruce Arians sends out the punting team. Carolina with the fair catch at their 47 yard line.
4Q 6:33 - Ryan Lindley is sacked by Charles Johnson and they lose several yards on the play. Loss of 9. 3rd and 13 is next.
4Q 7:08 - Carlson with the catch and picks up 6 yards on the play.
4Q 7:45 - Larry Fitzgerald with a catch and it's the first first down in the second half for the Arizona Cardinals to the 25 yard line.
4Q 7:55 - Ted Ginn Jr. almost muffs the punt but manages to hang onto it and is a fair catch at the Arizona Cardinals 13 yard line.
4Q 8:01 - Cam Newton tries to rifle it into Kelvin Benjamin, but Patrick Peterson did an excellent job in coverage.
4Q 8:01 - First timeout taken by the Carolina Panthers in this half. They ran down the play clock as long as they could though.
4Q 8:46 - Williams with another rush and it is no gain again.
4Q 9:40 - DeAngelo Williams rushes for no gain.
4Q 10:22 - DeAngelo Williams has another strong rush going to his right this time and is tackled at the Arizona 44 yard line.
4Q 10:53 - DeAngelo Williams gets into the game for the first time in a long time in his return from injury. He gains 4 yards with that rush.
4Q 11:48 - Jonathan Stewart breaks costless for his best run of the game. Gets all the way to the Panthers 41 yard line.
4Q 11:53 - Ryan Lindley throws an interception right away to Luke Keuchly. What a wasted opportunity for the Arizona Cardinals to get back into the game.
4Q 11:58 - Cam Newton bats the ball forward after he was stripped, the Arizona Cardinals pick the up and return it back to the 8 yard line.
4Q 12:38 - Stewart rushes forward for no gain.
4Q 12:47 - Butler punts the ball away where it is fair caught by Bersin at the Carolina 29 yard line.
4Q 13:20 - Ryan Lindley gets it to Rob Housler, but alas it is short of the first down marker and they will need to punt the ball away.
4Q 14:05 - Ryan Lindley is sacked by Short for a loss of 5 yards. 3rd and 15.
4Q 14:11 - Ryan Lindley tries to throw it to Larry Fitzgerald, but that pass is a wobbly duck and didn't even get to his feet.
4Q 14:22 - The ball is punted and it hits a Panther in the end zone to cause a touchback.
4Q 14:27 - 12 men on the field for the Cardinals defense. This moves the ball up to the 40 which makes it a smaller area for them to punt the ball into.
4Q 15:00 - First play of the final quarter is a Jonathan Stewart rush for no gain.
End of Third Quarter: The clock is able to run out and it will remain to be seen what kind of play the Carolina Panthers have in store for 3rd and 26.
3Q 0:08 - It's a quick toss to Fozzy Whitaker. Illegal block in the back for the Carolina Panthers. They are even farther back now to the Arizona 45 yard line.
3Q 0:08 - Arizona challenges whether or not it was a forward pass. But the ruling on the field was confirmed.
3Q 0:19 - Cam Newton was getting sacked by Calais Campbell, throws the ball away and there was apparently a receiver in the area, so they didn't call intentional grounding.
3Q 0:46 - Holding called on Trai Turner on a 8 yard run for Jonathan Stewart. 2nd and 20.
3Q 0:50 - Incomplete pass to Ed Dickson, just a little bit outside, 2nd and 10.
3Q 1:15 - Cam Newton finally finds Ed Dickson open downfield, there was a penalty for defensive holding which is declined. Gain of 34 yards to the Arizona 29 yard line.
3Q 1:50 - Stewart rushes forward for a gain of 6 yards.
3Q 2:14 - Greg Olsen has been spotted wide open down the field for what would have been a big game, but a holding penalty on Byron Bell will make it first and 20.
3Q 2:22 - After the penalty, the next punt is fair caught at the 41 yard line of Carolina. No flags this time.
3Q 2:32 - The ball is punted and there is a fair catch at the Panthers 46 yard line. Penalty for running into the kicker, they will rekick.
3Q 2:37 - Ryan Lindley throws it deep in the area of John Brown, but it falls incomplete and they will have yet another 3 and out tonight.
3Q 3:20 - They fake a wide receiver screen that was completely covered and throw it to Kerwynn Williams for a loss of 2 yards.
3Q 4:04 - Kerwynn Williams is tackled immediately in the backfield for a loss of one.
3Q 4:04 - Graham Gano with another excellent kickoff as it goes out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
3Q 4:09 - Mike Tolbert with a one yard touchdown reception from Cam Newton. Graham Gano hits the PAT again to make this a big lead, 27-14.
3Q 4:14 - This is a sketchy pass interference call on Tony Jefferson of the Arizona Cardinals. They finally showed the view that made it make sense. Carolina ball at the one yard line.
3Q 4:47 - Mike Tolbert rushes to the left side of the field and picks up the yard they just lost.
3Q 5:28 - Cam Newton tries to rush on a designed run. But he loses a yard and it's second and goal from the 4.
3Q 5:36 - Ted Ginn Jr. comes out of the end zone with the ball but ends up fumbling the ball away. Carolina recovers the ball at the 3 yard line.
3Q 5:50 - Fozzy Whitaker catches a screen pass to the right side of the field, cuts it back the other way to the left sideline and goes all the way into the end zone for a touchdown. Graham Gano nails the PAT. Panthers are now leading 20-14 as they retake the lead.
3Q 5:50 - In case you missed it, here is the halftime report from our own Jarrod Taylor.
3Q 6:04 - Ryan Lindley overthrows Michael Floyd, who acted like he was held. Cardinals will punt again, where it is caught at the 39 yard line of the Arizona Cardinals.
3Q 6:49 - Williams takes another handoff and has no gain.
3Q 7:30 - Kerwynn Williams is quickly tackled in the backfield for a loss of one.
3Q 7:48 - They punt the ball and it is fair caught at the Arizona Cardinals 8 yard line. That's where they will start with the ball.
3Q 7:48 - Carolina decides to take a delay of game, but that is declined by the Arizona Cardinals.
3Q 8:38 - Brent Bersin with a catch of a receiver screen for 6 yards and they send the punting unit out onto the field.
3Q 9:16 - Newton keeps it on a read option play and they lose those 4 yards on this one.
3Q 9:45 - Stewart rushes forward again for a gain of 4 yards.
3Q 10:35 - Newton completes it to Kelvin Benjamin to the other side of midfield to the 43 yard line of Arizona.
3Q 11:15 - Stewart rushes for no gain. Third and 6 is up.
3Q 11:50 - Newton with a short pass to Cotchery for a gain of 4 yards.
3Q 12:31 - Cam Newton rushes for 13 yards to get to the 42 yard line for a first down. Huge play for the Carolina Panthers.
3Q 13:10 - Stewart is tackled in the backfield for the loss of 1 yard.
3Q 13:16 - Newton throws it too far outside for Greg Olsen and it will be second and 10.
3Q 13:54 - Cam Newton stands in the pocket for over 5 seconds and then scrambles forward to the 31 yard line for a first down.
3Q 14:35 - Cam Newton tackled quickly on a zone read as he goes down for a loss of 4 yards. 3rd and 9.
3Q 14:56 - Stewart rushes the ball for a short gain of 2 yards, but there is a flag on the field. 12 men on the field for the defense. 2nd and 5.
3Q 15:00 - Cam Newton tries to throw it downfield, but it falls incomplete as their appears to be a lot of mist in the air.
3Q 15:00 - Injury update, Philly Brown is out with a shoulder injury.
3Q 15:00 - Chandler Catazaro kicks it off and it's a touchback to start the second half. Carolina ball at their own 20 yard line.
Halftime - Arizona only has 6 first downs and 65 total yards so far in this game. That is easy to believe.
Halftime - The other thing is that the Arizona Cardinals are a +2 in the turnover differential. Ryan Lindley has had effective ball control and despite being outgained, the Cardinals are hanging in there and are leading at halftime.
Halftime - Two major things stand out to yours truly at the moment. First it is the Arizona Cardinals red zone effiency. They have been there twice and have two touchdowns.
2Q 0:05 - Ryan Lindley throws it deep but it falls incomplete at the 8 yard line, behind the crowd of people who jumped for it. It is halftime.
2Q 0:05 - Carolina Panthers call their final timeout before what should be an apparent Hail Mary.
2Q 0:15 - Gano kicks it and the Cardinals decide to bring it out of the end zone this time. Ted Ginn Jr. does an excellent job and gets it out to the 42 yard line.
2Q 0:20 - Graham Gano hits the 39 yard field goal and the Carolina Panthers struggle after moving the ball again. They trail the Cardinals 13-14.
2Q 0:25 - Gano is good this time as he nails the field goal. There is a flag on the play though, holding on Brandon Williams for the Carolina Panthers. There will be another kick.
2Q 0:28 - Cardinals bring a big blitz and Rashad Johnson hits Cam Newton so the ball comes out wobbly and falls incomplete 10 yards shy of any target.
2Q 0:32 - Cam Newton tries to hit Philly Brown in the end zone but the ball is incomplete after it goes through his hands. Looks like he might have injured his left arm on the fall. By rule this means Carolina uses their second timeout with 0:28.
2Q 1:05 - Stewart rushes forward for a gain of 3 yards. 2nd and 7 from the 11 yard line.
2Q 1:13 - Philly Brown catches it down to the 14 yard line. The Carolina Panthers call a timeout and there is 1:05 left.
2Q 1:18 - Philly Brown is unable to get the catch and they call pass interference on Antonio Cromartie, which puts the ball down to the 37 yard line of the Cardinals.
2Q 1:38 - Greg Olsen with a catch for 7 yards.
2Q 2:00 - Mike Tolbert rumbles forward for 5.
2Q 2:16 - Cam Newton takes a read option play to get the ball down for another 8 yards and they let the clock wind down to the 2 minute warning. Ball is at the 39 yard line.
2Q 2:44 - Stewart with a rush to the right side as he gains 11 yards and is out of bounds.
2Q 2:50 - Fozzy Whitaker on the kickoff return as he gets down to the 20 yard line.
2Q 2:50 - They reset the clock to 2:50 after seeing the touchdown and Catanzaro nails the PAT. This writer is shocked as the Cardinals are up 14-10 as it nears halftime.
2Q 2:46 - Ed Hochuli is head referee of this contest. As expected the call has been overturned into a touchdown for Arizona.
2Q 2:55 - Lots of discussion on this play. Grice was trying to get to the goal line and may have extended the ball over, but they rule a fumble and recovery by Carolina on the field of play. This should be overturned though into a touchdown as it is reviewed.
2Q 3:32 - Logan Thomas comes in the game and they do a read option play and Kerwynn Williams gets down to the 1 yard line.
2Q 4:10 - Williams goes for 3 yards this time to make it 3rd and 3.
2Q 4:55 - Williams rush for 4 yards on first and 10.
2Q 5:05 - Cam Newton throws it directly to Antonio Cromartie for a major interception. Cromartie hustles down the field but is pushed out of bounds by Cam Newton at the Panthers 17 yard line.
2Q 5:48 - Stewart catches a swing pass but loses 3 yards on the play.
2Q 5:55 - Cam Newton misses Kelvin Benjamin and it will be 2nd and 10.
2Q 6:05 - Carlson should have had a first down but drops the ball. It's another bad punt on top of that and Carolina will get it at the 34 yard line of Arizona.
2Q 6:13 - Ryan Lindley was pressured and almost stepped out of the back of the end zone but escapes the pocket and throws it away.
2Q 6:54 - Williams with a rush to get 1 yard.
2Q 7:08 - Carolina winning the special teams battle as they are able to punt it and down the ball at the 2 yard line.
2Q 7:12 - It appears the ball may have slipped out of his hand because it fell 10 yards shy of the receiver.
2Q 7:50 - Stewart rushes it again for a gain of 2 yards to make it third and 5.
2Q 8:31 - Stewart with another good rush on the day. Picks up 3 on the ground to get them closer to midfield.
2Q 9:06 - Cam Newton finds Greg Olsen this time, throwing it into a tight window to the 44 yard line and another first down.
2Q 9:39 - Jonathan Stewart picks up 4 on the ground for a first down to the 28 yard line.
2Q 10:17 - Cam Newton finds Philly Brown for a quick catch and they pick up 7 yards on the play.
2Q 10:29 - The return man stays away from it this time and the ball bounces down to the Carolina Panthers 17 yard line where it is downed. They will be trying to go 83 yards to make it a 2 possession game.
2Q 10:33 - Ryan Lindley throws it but the Carolina Panthers are able to knock it down. They will be punting again.
2Q 11:17 - John Brown catches it and gets to the 31 to make it third and 12.
2Q 12:01 - Ryan Lindley is sacked by Edwards on first down for a loss of 8 yards.
2Q 12:05 - Graham Gano's kick from 43 yards out this time goes wide left and the Arizona Cardinals will get the ball from their own 33 yard line.
2Q 12:11 - Cam Newton just misses Kelvin Benjamin and Tony Jefferson was close but it was just a drop by Benjamin.
2Q 12:49 - Jerricho Cotchery with a big catch on second down and out of bounds to make it third and 5.
2Q 12:55 - Cam Newton tries to find Ed Dickson on the play that was previously open, but it was covered better and is incomplete.
2Q 13:11 - False start on Byron Bell of the offense this time to make it first and 15 from the 35 yard line.
2Q 13:45 - Cam Newton takes off this time on a designed quarterback run. They are looking very strong on offense as he gets 12 yards and a first down.
2Q 14:21 - Jonathan Stewart goes again down to the Cardinals 42 yard line for an 18 yard gain.
2Q 14:51 - Jonathan Stewart rushes for 10 yards to make it another first down for the Panthers.
2Q 14:51 - Neutral zone infraction on Calais Campbell. Make that first and 5.
2Q 14:56 - Cam Newton overthrows Ed Dickson for the second time today. That would have easily been a 30 yard gain. But they call illegal contact on Antonio Cromartie to get them 5 yards and a first down again.
2Q 14:56 - Catanzaro kicks the ball out of the end zone for a touchback. Panthers will start at the 20.
2Q 15:00 - Ryan Lindley with his first NFL playoff touchdown. It's only his third career touchdown as Darren Fells has it on the play action pass. The PAT is good and the Cardinals trail 7-10.
1Q 0:19 - Larry Fitzgerald gets the ball this time for a first down and fights the way down to the 1 yard line. The clock runs out and it will be first and goal after they walk to the other side of the field.
1Q 0:23 - Ryan Lindley had Larry Fitzgerald open in the end zone but was way overthrown. Lindley must have gotten too excited on that one.
1Q 1:07 - Stepfan Taylor runs in a big set for no gain.
1Q 1:07 - The Arizona Cardinals have a taken another timeout. They have one remaining in the half.
1Q 1:34 - Williams with the reception and a gain of two yards, but there is an unnecessary roughness call on Carolina Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson. Automatic first down for the Arizona Cardinals.
1Q 2:11 - Another rush, but Williams is tackled right away for a loss of 2 yards.
1Q 2:25 - Ryan Lindley throws an incomplete pass on a quick out and the Cardinals punt again, but it bounces off the return man of the Panthers and they recover it at the Panthers 31 yard line.
1Q 3:06 - Williams takes another handoff and is stopped for no gain as it is now 3rd and 5.
1Q 3:36 - Larry Fitzgerald with a catch and is out of bounds after a 5 yard gain.
1Q 4:04 - Michael Floyd with an 11 yard reception for the first Arizona Cardinals first down of the game.
1Q 4:49 - Lindley passes it to Kerwynn Williams as an emergency shovel pass, but they lose the yard they gained going into third down.
1Q 5:21 - Fake handoff to John Brown out of the backfield, ends up getting it thrown to him, gains 1 yard.
1Q 5:21 - Another Graham Gano touchback.
1Q 5:26 - Jonathan Stewart rushes to the right side and breaks a few tackles by spinning and gets into the end zone for a touchdown. Graham Gano PAT is good. Panthers lead 10-0.
1Q 5:55 - Cam Newton to Greg Olsen with another first down to the 13 yard line.
1Q 6:15 - Philly Brown with a catch for a gain of 8 on third and 7. Great awareness by Cam Newton on this play.
1Q 6:15 - The Arizona Cardinals have decided to take a timeout because they only had 10 players on the field.
1Q 6:56 - Jerricho Cotchery catches a wide receiver screen but is tackled for a one yard loss by Antonio Cromartie.
1Q 7:39 - Fozzy Whitaker gets a pitch and runs forward for a gain of 4 yards.
1Q 7:44 - Defensive holding on Tony Jefferson, 5 yards and an automatic first down. Ball is at the Arizona Cardinals 38 yard line.
1Q 8:10 - Stewart rushes forward for the gain of 3.
1Q 8:38 - Cam Newton runs an option with a pitch to Jerricho Cotchery. Not what was expected as they get the ball to the 46 and a first down.
1Q 9:12 - It's a wide receiver screen to Kelvin Benjamin. Picks up 6 yards on the play.
1Q 9:22 - Butler with another difficult punt in this game. Carolina Panthers will take the ball at the 43 yard line.
1Q 10:00 - Robert Hughes the upback with the handoff, but he only gets half a yard and the Arizona Cardinals will punt.
1Q 10:45 - Williams with another handoff as he picks up 4 yards and it will be third and 1.
1Q 11:27 - Kerwynn Williams rushes for a gain of 5 on first down. Best play of the day so far for the Arizona Cardinals.
1Q 11:27 - Another touchback from Graham Gano as the ball hits off the crossbar.
1Q 11:32 - Graham Gano is good from 47 to give the Carolina Panthers their first lead of the game. Panthers lead 3-0.
1Q 11:35 - 3rd down and 7. Cam Newton tries to get it to Philly Brown but Antonio Cromartie with a good play on the ball.
1Q 11:39 - Cam Newton throws it over the head of Ed Dickson and they could have gotten the first down and more on that play.
1Q 12:07 - Jonathan Stewart up the middle for a gain of 2 yards.
1Q 12:32 - Benjamin again as he picks up another 8 yards to the 32 yard line.
1Q 12:57 - Kelvin Benjamin catches a slant from Cam Newton for a gain of 8 yards, 3rd and 2.
1Q 13:30 - Jonathan Stewart takes the handoff out of the backfield for no gain.
1Q 13:40 - Carolina Panthers receive the ball after a bad punt, the ball is placed at the Cardinals 48 yard line.
1Q 14:15 - Lindley tosses it to Hughes out of the backfield, but he doesn't get enough yards and the Cardinals will punt.
1Q 14:57 - Stepfan Taylor takes the handoff and gains two yards, third and 8 is up next and it will be tough to convert.
1Q 15:00 - First play from scrimmage, is a Ryan Lindley incomplete pass to Rob Housler. Second and 10.
1Q 15:00 - Ted Ginn Jr. takes a knee in the end zone and the Cardinals will start at the 20 yard line.
The Carolina Panthers will be kicking off to the Cardinals in just a moment.
Pregame prediction: Greg Olsen will have a touchdown reception in this game.
Pregame prediction: Cam Newton is going to throw for over 250 yards in this contest and run for another 75 yards.
The flag that they have is to the measurements of the field. It is not covering the end zones but is covering the other 100 yards wide.
The National Anthem is now being sung by Brian McKnight. Always a proud moment for Patriotism before the game begins.
It looks like it will be rainy in Charlotte, North Carolina for today's contest. Temperature right now is 51 degrees.
Larry Fitzgerald could be rather great in this game, but it's a matter of just how healthy the wide receiver can be. Either way, the Carolina Panthers defensive weakness is in their secondary.
The pregame selections are coming in on the pregame show, and they are split fairly evenly between the two teams. If Ryan Lindley was not playing in this game it would be much more lopsided in favor of the Arizona Cardinals.
Normally, yours truly likes to be able to see Patrick Peterson shut down the receiver across from him, which in this game will likely be Kelvin Benjamin. But in this game it just seems like the Panthers might just stay away from Peterson. It's just a hunch.
In other NFL news, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has been offically downgraded to out, which will make it more difficult for them to be able to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
Injury update: Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams is officially active for this contest.
Despite the success that the Arizona Cardinals have had this season, this writer is predicting that they will lose this playoff game on the road in North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers will win this game by a final score of 24-10.
Both teams are quite strong defensively. The Carolina Panthers are led by their middle linebacker Luke Kuchly. He led the NFL in tackles this season getting 153, which is quite an impressive feat. Right now the Arizona Cardinals defense is led by cornerback Patrick Peterson and the Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles. Everyone is looking to potentially hire Bowles for Head Coaching vacancies since they have outperformed the talent that they have this season.
The Arizona Cardinals are known for throwing the ball deep through the passing offense of Bruce Arians. They have consistently thrown the ball deep, primarily to Michael Floyd and John Brown. When it comes to a crucial third down reception, they lean on Larry Fitzgerald. Michael Floyd has only 47 catches this year, but he leads the team in receiving yards with 841 yards and leads the team with 6 receiving touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald has the most receptions on the team with 63 receptions for 784 yards and only 2 touchdowns. Rookie wide receiver John Brown has performed well also, getting 48 catches for 696 yards and 5 touchdowns. Of course, despite the advantage that receivers may have over the Panthers receivers, it may not matter if Ryan Lindley is unable to get them the ball.
As far as receiving is concerned, the Carolina Panthers actually had two players get the same exact amount of receiving yards. They are Kelvin Benjamin and tight end Greg Olsen. As they both had 1,008 yards this season, but Benjamin had more touchdowns, getting 9 this season while Olsen only caught 6 touchdown passes. Both of them should still be key targets in this playoff matchup, but Olsen has more receptions and is more of a possession tight end while Kelvin Benjamin is a deep threat despite just being a rookie.
The Carolina Panthers have Jonathan Stewart as their leading rusher with 809 rushing yards this season to go along with 3 touchdowns. It is being reported that DeAngelo Williams will be back from injury possibly this week, but with the success they have had with Stewart this past month, it's uncertain what kind of rotation they might want to use. But this is just another spot where the Carolina Panthers should be favored as Jonathan Stewart has more experience and even scored the opening touchdown back in the playoff game 6 years ago.
The Arizona Cardinals have had some struggles at running back as well. Andre Ellington was their leading rusher this season, but was injured and then placed onto injured reserve. Kerwynn Williams is now the leading rusher for the Cardinals with just 246 rushing yards and will be joined in the backfield by Stepfan Taylor.
Cam Newton, despite missing two games, was still able to hit the 3,000 passing yards mark this season. He had 18 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions and the passer rating is 82.1 for the season. As far as the quarterback position is concerned, it is 100% clear that the Carolina Panthers are holding an edge in this position.
Looking through the roster, there are several things to highlight. Ryan Lindley has a 48.4% completion percentage for 562 yards with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions during the season. His passer rating is rather atrocious as he has obtained a 56.8 mark in that result.
Playoff history between the two teams exists despite the fact that the Carolina Panthers are just now in their 20th season. They met back in the divisional weekend of January 10th, 2009. The starting quarterbacks for the contest were Jake Delhomme and Kurt Warner. This was the season where the Cardinals would arrive and pull off the upset of the Panthers en route to the Super Bowl, where they would lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The final score of that game was Arizona 33, Carolina 13.
The Carolina Panthers on the other hand, have the perennial "hot hand" going into the postseason. They went undefeated in the month of December to improve their record and win the NFC South. They finish just under .500 with a final record of 7-8-1. That's despite losing their star quarterback for some of those final games, as Cam Newton was hurt in a car accident and was unable to play in one of the contests.
The Arizona Cardinals come into this matchup having struggled in their last few contests. They lost their last game as the fell to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 by a final score of 17-20. Their record was 11-5 this season after starting it 9-1. That fall in the second half of the season was largely due to quarterback issues with both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton hurt and the third quarterback getting onto the field is Ryan Lindley.
Good afternoon and thank you for joining the NFL playoff action here at VAVEL USA. The first matchup of the 2015 NFL Playoffs is between the Arizona Cardinals as they visit the Carolina Panthers. This will be their second time to ever meet in the postseason. Bruce Arians will be leading the Cardinals as it appears to be a defensive struggle against Ron Rivera's Panthers.