The Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers will meet at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina this Sunday with one thing in mind — Super Bowl 50.
The two teams seem to match up pretty well, led no less by their respective quarterbacks.
The Panthers have Cam Newton, someone who can pass and run. Regardless, the Cardinals can force him to throw the ball early by forcing him into the pocket. To do that, the Cardinals need to get Calais Campbell and Dwight Freeney involved to try and neutralize one Carolina's prolific scoring weapons.
Another player to watch out for the Cardinals is Greg Olsen. To shut that down, the Cardinals may have to turn to Jerricho Cotchery and Ted Ginn Jr. to somehow check Olsen.
On the other side, the Cardinals have an ace up their sleeve as well with Carson Palmer. The quarterback is having a stellar season and is making a serious case of probably ending as league Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Palmer is, however, coming off a weak performance against the Green Bay Packers wherein his inexperience may be starting to show. Right now, Palmer has to mature quickly if the Cardinals are to advance to the big dance.
But then again, the Cardinals can look to other players. There is Larry Fitzgerald or even Josh Norman as well, two other players who could turn the game to their favor.
Arizona is likely to employ a blitz against Carolina, something that they have been doing against almost all their opponents.
If the Cardinals can jump the gun on the slow-starting Panthers, this should go their way. The National Football Conference (NFC) championship game promises to be an exciting one, but it will depend on who dictates the tempo in the early going.
The last time the two teams met, the Panthers won over the Cardinals 27–16 in a wild-card playoff game. Is it payback time for Arizona?
The Cardinals and the Panthers will face off this Sunday starting at 6:40 p.m. EST. It will be televised via FOX, with live streaming available here.
