Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers scouting report

azcentral sports Cardinals insider Kent Somers previews and predicts Saturday's NFL NFC playoff game in Charlotte, N.C. Can the Cardinals win on the road and advance?

Cardinals first and foremost

There's nothing fancy about stopping the Panthers. But Carolina's strengths mirror the Cardinals recent defensive woes. The Panthers can rush the ball; the Cardinals have trouble stopping it. The Panthers use tight ends effectively in the passing game; tight ends have given the Cardinals trouble. Cam Newton is a dangerous ball carrier; quarterbacks have hurt the Cardinals on scrambles the past two weeks. The Cardinals must reverse those trends to win Saturday.

Cardinals key stat

156

That's the average rushing yards the Cardinals defense has yielded in the past six games. The Cardinals lost four of those. In the first 10 games, the Cardinals gave up an average of 80 yards a game.

Cardinals key player

Inside linebacker Larry Foote -- A knee injury forced the team's defensive leader to miss last week's game against the 49ers. His absence was felt. The unit seemed to play with little passion, and Foote usually brings that. A week off should help the 13-year veteran, who played every defensive snap but one in the first 15 weeks. Foote will be a key in stopping the Panthers' rushing attack. That includes trying to limit what quarterback Cam Newton does on read-option plays as well as scrambles.

Cardinals injury report

QB Drew Stanton (knee), out; NT Dan Williams (foot), G Jonathan Cooper (wrist/knee), questionable; DT Frostee Rucker (ankle), DE Calais Campbell (hip), LB Larry Foote (knee), S Tyrann Mathieu (thumb/hip), C Lyle Sendlein (back), probable.

Panthers first and foremost

Do what teams have been able to do to the Cardinals the last few weeks: run the ball and make big plays. With Ryan Lindley at quarterback, the Cardinals offense isn't built for sustaining long scoring drives. And that's what Carolina will try to force it to do. If Carolina hangs on the ball, it will be hard for the Cardinals to win.

Panthers key stat

7

That's how many rookies the Panthers started during the last stretch of the season. What they lack in experience, they make up for with athleticism. The decision to play rookies has made the secondary faster, although the Panthers' defensive strength remains in its front seven.

Panthers key player

Tight end Greg Olsen -- The Panthers strong running game makes Olsen a bigger threat in the passing game. He finished the season with 1,008 receiving yards and 84 receptions, setting team records. He had six touchdown receptions and is the only active NFL tight end with at least five in every season since 2008. The Cardinals are better at defending tight ends than they were a year ago, but they still are vulnerable. Controlling Olsen is paramount to winning today.

Panthers injury report

Thomas DeCoud (hamstring), doubtful; S LB A.J. Klein (ankle), questionable; QB Derek Anderson (illness), DE Charles Johnson (non-injury related), G Fernando Velasco (not injury related), RB DeAngelo Williams (hand), probable.

Cardinals on offense

The Panthers play a lot of two-deep coverage against the pass, partly because they start two rookies, cornerback Bene Benwikere and safety Tre Boston, in the secondary. But it's also because their strength is in the front seven. They count on that group getting to the quarterback. The Cardinals have protected the quarterback well so it's an excellent matchup. The Cardinals receivers should have some favorable matchups if quarterback Ryan Lindley is given time, and if he's accurate. The Cardinals need to get receiver Larry Fitzgerald more involved than he has been in recent weeks. Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei can be disruptive, and the linebackers, led by Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly, are athletic. The Cardinals likely won't be in the red zone much, so they have to score touchdowns when they get there. That's been a problem. In their past nine possessions inside the 20, the Cardinals have scored one touchdown. For the season, their red-zone percentage of 44.7 is the sixth worst in the NFL.

Edge: Panthers

Cardinals on defense

Cardinals fans are wondering what happened to the defense that stymied most opponents in the first three months. It's not as if there have been many injuries on that side of the ball over the past month. The tackling has been atrocious, and that's usually a symptom of deeper problems. Perhaps passion has been missing. Perhaps older players such as defensive lineman Tommy Kelly and linebacker Larry Foote are wearing down. If the Cardinals are going to win, the guys making the most money need to step up. Defensive end Calais Campbell didn't have one statistic against Seattle two weeks ago. Cornerback Patrick Peterson could take a big step toward justifying his paycheck with a big game. The Panthers offense has hit its stride over the past month, but then again, it faced defenses ranked in the lower third in the league, including the Saints (31st) and Falcons (32nd).

Edge: Cardinals

Special teams

The Panthers' coverage teams are atrocious, ranking 32nd in punt return average and 31st in kickoff return average. Ted Ginn Jr. has done a decent job returning punts for the Cardinals, averaging 10.7 yards a return, but his kick return average of 19 yards is abysmal. It's not all Ginn's fault. He's rarely has had room to run. The Cardinals desperately need a big play from one of these units. After a rough stretch in late November, Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro has made seven consecutive field-goal attempts. Coach Bruce Arians, however, is reluctant to let Catanzaro try from beyond 50 yards. He's had just three of those attempts, making two. Perhaps Arians is playing for field position.

Edge: Cardinals

Bottom line

These two teams enter the game trending in opposite directions. The Panthers have won four consecutive games, but none of those opponents finished the season with a winning record. The Cardinals have lost four of their past six, but only one loss (Atlanta) was to a team that finished under .500. So what should we make of that? It's hard to say, other than most coaches would prefer the Panthers' last month of the season to the Cardinals'. Arizona will win if Lindley doesn't commit more than one turnover, and if its defense plays as it did earlier the season. The guess here is that one of those things doesn't happen.

Prediction: Panthers 20, Cardinals 13