When: 6:40 PM ET, Sunday, January 24, 2016
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
These 2 teams met in last season’s Conference Championship game when Ryan Lindley quarterbacked the Cardinals in a game the Panthers won 27-16. This particular matchup is different in many ways.
NFL Betting Line
| Arizona Cardinals | +3.5 | ML +145 | O48 |
| Carolina Panthers | -3.5 | ML -165 | U48 |
Stats and Records
| W/L | Strk | PF | PA | Home | Away | Grass | Turf | OT | Div | Conf | |
| Arizona | 14-3 | W1 | 30.3 | 19.6 | 7-2 | 7-1 | 11-3 | 3-0 | 1-0 | 4-2 | 11-2 |
| Carolina | 16-1 | W2 | 31.2 | 19.5 | 9-0 | 7-1 | 12-0 | 4-1 | 1-0 | 5-1 | 12-1 |
| Arizona Cardinals |
Carolina Panthers |
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 |
Avg. Yds. (Rank) | Category | Avg. Yds. (Rank) |  |
| 288.5 (2nd) | Pass Off. | 224.3 (24th) | ||
| 119.8 (8th) | Rush Off. | 142.6 (2nd) | ||
| 13-3 | 230.4 (8th) | Pass Def. | 234.5 (11th) | 15-1 |
| 1st NFC WEST (4-2) |
91.2 (5th) | Rush Def. | 88.4 (4th) | 1st NFC SOUTH (5-1) |
First of all, the Arizona Cardinals will have their starting quarterback Carson Palmer for this Conference Championship game unlike last year’s when Ryan Lindley started in place of Palmer and lost. In the regular season, Palmer recorded the following:
| GP | PYDS | PCT | TDs | INT | RATING |
| 16 | 4671 | 63.7 | 35 | 11 | 104.6 |
What does Carson Palmer have that no other quarterback has; three wide receivers that should be considered number one. Here they are:
| Player | Pos | GP | GS | REC | TGT | TGT% | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | 20+ | YDS/G | FUM | FML | FD | FD% |
| Larry Fitzgerald | WR | 16 | 16 | 109 | 145 | 25.8 | 1215 | 11.1 | 9 | 44 | 17 | 75.9 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 59.6 |
| John Brown | WR | 15 | 11 | 65 | 101 | 18.0 | 1003 | 15.4 | 7 | 68 | 11 | 66.9 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 75.4 |
| Michael Floyd | WR | 15 | 6 | 52 | 89 | 15.8 | 849 | 163 | 6 | 60 | 13 | 56.6 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 76.9 |
Defensively, they are allowing 91.2 (5th) yards on the ground, 230.4 (8th) yards in the air.
Expect some sort of a 4-3 scheme including a spy on Newton.
Speaking of Carolina’s Cam Newton, he is the offense period. Newton’s best receiver is tight end Greg other than him, Carolina’s wide outs are nothing to write home about.
Last week Carolina’s defense performed half- heartedly versus the Seattle Seahawks particularly in pass defense. If they can’t get to Palmer approximately 80% of the time; game over!
Selection: Arizona +3
