(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
(5) Arizona Cardinals at (4) Carolina Panthers
Saturday January 3, 4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN
(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
1) It doesn’t matter that the Panthers made the playoffs with a losing record.
Carolina’s 7-8-1 record has been griped about plenty, especially by fans of the Eagles and the four 9-7 AFC teams who find themselves shut out of the postseason. That’s irrelevant, especially with the Panthers entering the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league after running the table in December. The opposite can be said for the Cardinals, who have lost both of third-string QB Ryan Lindley’s starts to close the regular season.
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2) Will this be Larry Fitzgerald’s last game with the Cardinals?
The last time these teams met in the postseason, Larry Fitzgerald had one of the best games of his career, grabbing eight catches for 166 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 33-13 divisional win in the 2008 NFC playoffs. One of a handful of remaining players on either team who played in that game, Fitzgerald doesn’t exactly have a future Hall of Famer like Kurt Warner throwing him the ball this time. As the Arizona Republic noted earlier this week, the veteran’s cap number will be $23.6 million in 2015. That’s a huge percentage of the team’s total payroll to tie up in a wideout who’ll be 32 at the start of next season.
(Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
3) The last two AP NFL Coach of the Year winners will face off in this game.
Ron Rivera certainly won’t repeat the award this year after his team dropped from 12-4 to 7-8-1, but Arians, who won two years ago after guiding the Indianapolis Colts to an 11-5 season in an interim role, is certainly in the running. Despite losing his top two quarterbacks and a number of starters to various injuries throughout the season, Arians somehow found a way to lead this group to an 11-5 mark.
(Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)
4) The Cardinals are the first Super Bowl host team to make the playoffs since 2000.
They aren’t likely to get any home games during the NFC playoffs, but Arizona still could play the Super Bowl in their home stadium if they somehow win three straight. The last team to make the playoffs with that same possibility was the 2000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who then lost their wild card game to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Giants to win Super Bowl XXXV at Raymond James Stadium four weeks later.
(AP Photo/Bill Feig)
5) Much of Carolina’s pass defense relies on two late-round rookies.
The Cardinals drafted safety Deone Bucannon with their first-round pick in May, but he’s been shifted mainly to more of a hybrid linebacker role in specific packages rather than a strict position in the secondary. The Panthers however, found two starting defensive backs in some lower-profile rookies. Fifth-round pick Bene Benwikere is now the team’s starter at left cornerback while fourth rounder Tre Boston has emerged atop the depth chart at free safety. The pair replaced respective veterans Melvin White and Thomas Decoud at halftime of Carolina’s Week 13 loss to Minnesota. They took over as starters the following week versus New Orleans. The Panthers haven’t lost since making that change.
