Cardinals vs. Panthers: TV Info, Preview, Predictions, More for NFC Title Clash

NFL fans get something new next weekend in the NFC Championship Game when the Carolina Panthers host the Arizona Cardinals.

Unlike, say, the two games that set up this final encounter, the Cardinals and Panthers won't trot out a rematch for the globe to watch. No, this is Carson Palmer versus Cam Newton for the first time this year. It's elite defense versus elite defense. Improbable run built on gritty play versus the same.

As Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 pointed out, it doesn't get more evenly matched than this:

It's a fitting encounter for the right to the NFC crown, not to mention a shot at a Lombardi Trophy.

Here's an early look at the contest and predictions.

Game Details

When: Sunday, January 24, at 6:40 p.m. ET

Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Television: Fox

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under:  47

Spread: Carolina (-3)

Preview

Arizona lost all of three games this year going into the postseason, then survived an overtime affair against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, 26-20.

Carolina, on the other hand, lost just one game before taking care of business against the Seattle Seahawks in a 31-24 outcome, though the Panthers did let up a 24-point run to close the game.

Regardless, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon offered another example to show how similar these two teams have been:

Call it destiny.

Palmer's got his own redemption arc in the works after the crushing knee injury and eventual parting with the Cincinnati Bengals, the odd stop in Oakland and now, finally, after all these years, securing a playoff win.

His 349 yards and three touchdowns against the Packers shouldn't come as a surprise, not after he totaled 4,671 with 35 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in the regular season. It's no shock, either, that his cast of receiving weapons, spanning Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Michael Floyd and even running back David Johnson, helped the offense total those numbers while the running game struggled.

It didn't happen without drama, of course. Palmer hit Fitzgerald in overtime on a risky play, then shoveled it to him for the game-winning score. Or perhaps Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson put it better, as captured by NFL Network:

Carolina's not without its own pursuit of redemption, some of it already obtained through a game with just as much drama.

Newton totaled 45 touchdowns in the regular season, looking like the surefire MVP while not having much to work with around him after wideout Kelvin Benjamin went down with a season-ruining injury.

While a 15-1 mark was incredible, as was going to Seattle and getting a win in Week 6, the ghost of last year's playoff loss to the Seahawks chased the Panthers into Sunday.

Now the Panthers look like the bully in the NFC, as Newton threw for a score and Jonathan Stewart rushed for two. Seattle posted 24 points in the second half while the Newton-led offense fell silent, but the Luke Kuechly-led defense held strong.

Head coach Ron Rivera gave an explanation for the collapse, according to Around The NFL:

So not only is this an evenly matched game, one team just got too conservative and lost all momentum while the other came up in the clutch of overtime to steal a victory.

Sunday, both teams will try to run the football and create breathing room for the passing attack. If all else fails, Palmer will lean on pass-catching backs to emulate a ground game, and Newton might do it on his lonesome, if necessary.

More than anything, though, this one figures to be a defensive slugfest where the unit capable of making the big play or stop wins the game outright. While not an easy task for either side, the approach doesn't change now that the two have arrived.

Prediction

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

This might be a road game for the Cardinals, but Palmer and Co. have the means to steal a win and move on to the Super Bowl.

Carolina's defense gets rightfully labeled as elite, but the secondary outside of corner Josh Norman continues to look like nothing more than a hodgepodge of names thanks to the wear and tear of the season. It's why the Seahawks got two touchdowns from Jermaine Kearse and one from Tyler Lockett.

Norman might lock down one of Palmer's weapons, but there's always another for the offense to lean on in any situation. On the flip side, the defense shouldn't have any problems slowing a wideout corps led by Ted Ginn and focusing on containing Newton, much as Seattle was able to do by holding him to three yards on 11 rushes.

Look for this close affair to get a big play from Palmer and one of his vast array of weapons late. Newton's been the MVP all year, but he hasn't encountered a team quite as deep or explosive as these Cardinals.

Prediction: Cardinals 28, Panthers 24

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of January 17. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.