NFC Championship Game 2016: Live Stream, Odds Guide for Cardinals vs. Panthers

Carson Palmer is the driving force behind the Arizona Cardinals offense, and he has been a brilliant performer in the regular season.

However, when the Cardinals took the field at University of Phoenix Stadium last week against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional playoffs, Palmer was anxious. He had never quarterbacked his team to a playoff victory, and that was the source of his nerves.

Palmer did not perform against the Packers like the quarterback who threw for 35 touchdowns and 4,671 yards during the regular season. The confidence and decisiveness that marked his play all year was not there for long stretches.

Palmer threw two interceptions in the game, and he threw several other off-target passes. Not only did he miss plays that were there to be made for the Cardinals, he threw some passes that could have been intercepted.

The Packers extended the game to overtime, but Palmer and the Cardinals found a way to win when they scored a touchdown on their first possession of the extra session.

Game	Time (ET)	TV, Live Stream	Line	Over/Under	Predicition
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers	6:40 p.m	Fox, Fox Sports Go	Carolina (-3)	47	Carolina; Over

They survived and advanced, but will the Cardinals play like the well-rounded team that went 13-3 in the regular season, or will they struggle to find their form against the powerful Carolina Panthers?

The Cardinals are three-point underdogs to Carolina, according to Odds Shark.

If Palmer doesn't get the anxiety out of his system, the Cardinals are likely to be in big trouble on the road against the top-seeded Carolina Panthers (15-1 in the regular season, 1-0 in the postseason).

Head coach Bruce Arians believes the nervousness that Palmer and the Cardinals felt was about getting a postseason win, and now that they have achieved that, the quarterback will return to his usual high standard.

Arians told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that there will be an attitude change when the game kicks off Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET.

“That was a game where he picked a lot of shorter completions early, instead of going for them like we normally do,” Arians said. “I think that was part of, ‘I don’t want to mess this up.’ Now that we don’t have to worry about doing that anymore, we can go back to being ourselves.”

The Panthers have their own issues as they get ready to take the field at Bank of America Stadium. They came out on fire in their divisional playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, rolling to a 31-0 lead at halftime.

However, instead of putting the game away early in the third with a couple of stops and one more touchdown, they could not reignite in the second half and held on to win the game 31-24.

While they were never in danger of losing the lead or the game, it was a bit too close for comfort. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton can ease off the gas pedal if they want to go to Super Bowl 50.

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Newton, a strong candidate for the NFL's MVP award, threw 35 TD passes during the regular season and ran for 10 more scores. While those numbers are deserving of attention, Newton also passes the eye test with big plays on a nearly every-game basis. He regularly makes one or two clutch plays that help the Panthers find the win column.

The Panthers also have impact players on the defensive side to blunt any important Arizona possession. They are led by Pro Bowl linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, who combined for 223 tackles, 6.5 sacks, eight interceptions and six forced fumbles.

Rivera, a former linebacker with the Chicago Bears during his nine-year playing career, analyzed his two defensive leaders.

“Luke has tremendous talent, but he also diagnoses plays very quickly,” Rivera told Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. “He relies on what he’s learned and what he takes from all the meetings and the film study. T.D.? He’s a natural ‘feel’ player. He plays off of true instinct.”

Arizona's defense has been impressive throughout the season, ranking fifth overall in yards allowed and coming through with big plays on a regular basis. However, stopping or even containing Newton is a huge challenge because of his escapability, speed and power running with the football when he decides to leave the pocket. There will be a lot of pressure on defensive end Calais Campbell and the Arizona front to keep Newton from taking over the game.

The assignment will be too difficult for the Cardinals. The Panthers have been the best, deepest and most consistent team throughout the season, and they will come through with the victory and find a way to cover the spread in the NFC title game.