Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers: Complete Wild-Card Preview for Arizona

The wait is over, Arizona Cardinals fans. The team returns to the playoffs for the first time since after the 2009 season, but with third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley at the helm due to injuries to Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, the tune on offense is far different from back then.

It took Lindley eight games and one drive to notch his first career touchdown pass, and though his NFL record of 228 consecutive passes to start a career without throwing one may stand for a long time, it’s a distant memory as far as the Cardinals are concerned. That’s no longer an issue.

Lindley played well enough to beat the San Francisco 49ers last week. He still had his fair share of throws he’d like back, but those mistakes were not what damned the Cardinals—the defense is what ultimately did them in. Todd Bowles’ unit must be better this week in order for the team to get past the Carolina Panthers.

Here is your in-depth preview of the Cardinals as they face the Panthers during Wild Card Weekend.

Cardinals’ Week 17 Review

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Indeed, Lindley played well enough for the team to beat the 49ers. But in the second half, the offense had the ball for just over 12 minutes and gained 83 yards after holding the ball over 18 minutes and gaining over 300 yards in the first half.

Arizona’s four second-half drives ended as follows:

• Interception
• Punt
• Punt
• Interception

That’s not winning football. Coming in as one of the best second-half teams in the NFL, we have come to expect a better performance than that out of the offense. Injuries have decimated the roster, but Lindley had just thrown for 260 yards on San Francisco’s defense in the first half with two touchdowns.

And the defense didn’t help down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, Arizona allowed Colin Kaepernick and Co. to hold the ball for nine minutes and run 19 plays. The 49ers did not score, but they moved the ball on the ground and kept Arizona’s offense on the sideline.

Looking ahead to this week’s game against the Panthers, it is imperative for the Cardinals to play better on first and second down. Running back Frank Gore carried 16 times for 105 yards (6.6 yards per carry) in the second half on either first or second down, and Kaepernick added another four for 43 yards (10.8 YPC).

News and Notes

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Veldheer Named Team MVP

Left tackle Jared Veldheer signed this offseason the day free agency opened. He was the first to ink a deal, and for good reason. General manager Steve Keim and head coach Bruce Arians wanted a bully protecting their quarterback, and that’s exactly what Veldheer has done this season.

In fact, he was so good in doing so, he was named the team’s most valuable player this week:

"

Jared Veldheer was named the team’s MVP in 2014. The award is named after Lloyd Herberg, who covered the Cardinals for The Arizona Republic.

— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) January 1, 2015"

I dug into his stats and the stats of his predecessors in Arizona for Revenge of the Birds. Go have a look at the stark contrast from the pre-Veldheer Cardinals years to this season. The difference is jaw-dropping.

Stanton Out Again

Had this news come down this week after another Lindley start like the one against Seattle two weeks ago, Birdgang may have started thinking about how nice it was to make the playoffs and how far away the draft is.

But seeing Lindley make some impressive throws and lead the team on multiple extended drives last week, there is hope he can do the same at least one more time.

Indeed, Stanton will miss the Wild Card Game, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, but fans have rallied around their third-string quarterback leading up to the game on Saturday. Check out the Twitter hashtag #RyanLindleyFanClub.

From Urban’s blog:

“When you get experience in big games, and (Ryan) has been in two big games, it affects how you play,” Arians said. “I think he’s more than ready and I think he’ll play extremely well.”

Tackling Is a New Issue

Keim was on the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this week, and he expressed how he was very disappointed in the tackling effort against the 49ers, according to Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com:

"

There’s an element to tackling, you know, whether it’s coming to balance the space, bending your knees, using the proper technique—that’s all one thing. But there’s an element to tackling, with an old school mentality that I have, that it’s mostly want-to. And I was extremely disappointed with our tackling in general [against San Francisco].

"

The issue crept up over the final month of the regular season, starting with the Chiefs game, and continuing into the Rams game on Thursday Night Football. By the time the Seahawks came calling on Sunday night during Week 16, the issue was full-blown.

The Cardinals must find out what’s wrong and fix it before Saturday. If we see another tackling effort like the past two games, it could be a long day for Arizona and its fanbase.

Birdgang Boo-Boo Brigade

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Player	Position	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game Day
Calais Campbell	DE	Hip	FP	FP	-	-
Jonathan Cooper	LG	Wrist/Knee	LP	LP	-	-
Larry Foote	ILB	Knee	FP	FP	-	-
Tyrann Mathieu	FS	Thumb/Hip	FP	FP	-	-
Frostee Rucker	DE	Ankle	LP	LP	-	-
Lyle Sendlein	C	Back	FP	FP	-	-
Drew Stanton	QB	Knee	DNP	DNP	-	-
Dan Williams	NT	Foot	DNP	LP	-	-

All injury statuses gathered from AZCardinals.com.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

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Calais Campbell vs. Byron Bell

This is a matchup the Cardinals should win. Bell allowed the second-most sacks (nine) during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and only five offensive tackles allowed pressure more often than he did.

Campbell hasn’t sacked a quarterback since getting to Alex Smith a month ago, so he has to be foaming at the mouth in anticipation of bringing down quarterback Cam Newton. He should have a field day with Bell.

Michael Floyd vs. Panthers Secondary

At times this season, Floyd has looked like the No. 1 receiver for the Cardinals. Other times, he has completely disappeared. Carolina’s secondary is young and sometimes porous, so as long as Lindley is accurate, plays should be there for Floyd.

He has a knack for besting the 49ers throughout his career, hauling in four of his 13 career touchdowns against them. Three of his six 100-yard games have come against San Francisco.

Floyd must be on his game to help Lindley complete passes. The quarterback’s game against the 49ers last week was made better because of a few great efforts from the team’s leading receiver.

Cardinals’ X-Factors of the Week: Chandler Catanzaro and Drew Butler

Special teams account for a third of all football games. Failed offensive drives lead to a punter kicking the ball away to the other team, and successful ones lead to the kicker doing the same.

Field position will be paramount against the Panthers; therefore, two X-factors get mentions this week.

Realistically, this one could come down to the legs of the field-goal kickers, and the ACC gave us two good ones in this matchup: Chandler Catanzaro (Clemson) of the Cardinals and Graham Gano (Florida State) of the Panthers.

Punter Drew Butler struggled early but really excelled down the stretch. He ended up leading the NFL with 42 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He has been a weapon for the Cardinals.

Prediction

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When these two teams met in 2013, both rosters were very different; retirement, free agency and injuries have created a lot of turnover for both squads.

The core players of these teams are familiar with each other, however. Newton has faced the Cardinals twice in his four-year career, losing both games. He has a real chance to get back at the first team he ever faced as a pro on Saturday, and if Carolina wins, it will be not only because of his arm but also because of his legs.

Arizona’s defense cannot contain athletic quarterbacks, thanks in large part to the lack of a true athlete at inside linebacker. Newton presents perhaps the toughest matchup of the season for Bowles’ defense, and if the Cardinals lose track of him even for three to five plays, that may be enough to sink the ship that is their injury-riddled 2014 season.

We will probably see more of rookie Deone Bucannon at linebacker for the sole purpose of spying Newton and wrangling him when he turns on the jets. Whereas Kaepernick and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson beat defenses with their legs by improvising on well-covered passing plays, Carolina calls more designed runs for Newton to take advantage of his size and speed.

That’s where Bucannon comes in. He has the lateral quickness to shadow Newton wherever he goes—he essentially is Daryl Washington this weekend.

Prediction: Panthers 20, Cardinals 17

All stats gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise stated.