Cardinals' Success Rests on Containing Christian McCaffrey

It's game day for the Arizona Cardinals, as a whole week's worth of preparations for the Carolina Panthers will come to fruition.

Heading into Bank of America Stadium, the Cardinals are 1-2 with a dash of luck on their side in their sole win.

Unfortunately, Arizona hasn't been so lucky when facing Carolina.

The Cardinals are 0-for-6 in as many games against the Panthers, and a win is desperately needed to keep the train on the tracks.

Carolina's offense doesn't pose itself as a threat - they're just No. 30 in total offensive yards per game. Their leading receiver, Robbie Anderson, has just 148 yards on the year. In comparison, Cardinals receiver Marquise Brown had 140 last week vs. Los Angeles.

Their offense, as a whole, has been overwhelmingly disappointing.

That's not to discard the talent across the board, though. These are still the best football players in the world, and names such as Baker Mayfield and DJ Moore are known for reasons.

However, the (obvious) key to the game is stopping Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.

When healthy, he's arguably the top back in the league thanks to his ability to do nearly everything asked of him.

Just ask the Cardinals, who allowed him to gain 95 yards on 13 carries along with 10 receptions for 66 yards in a Carolina win last season.

McCaffrey has had issues staying on the field in recent years, but has absolutely splashed when given the opportunity to play.

This season, the Cardinals are middle of the pack in nearly every rushing category defensively while McCaffrey averages 4.9 yards per carry.

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph knows exactly how special he is. The former Broncos head coach vouched for the team to draft McCaffrey when he was coming out of Stanford.

"He is a special player, watching him on tape and obviously last year's game, having 11 catches against us for over 60 yards was obviously not good for us," said Joseph.

"But he's a special player and if he pops, he can make a big play. A couple years ago he was here, he had about 20 yards rushing going into the fourth quarter and he popped a 70-yarder. So he is capable of making big plays in the run and pass game alike, and that makes him dangerous. Obviously in the red zone, having to plan for him, to cover him with like-skill [players] and not put him on big backers is obviously a plan for us."

That game plan is still not privy to the public eye, but will soon become available. Cardinals cornerback Marco Wilson is confident in whatever that entails:

Inside linebacker Zaven Collins also had some nice things to say about McCaffrey and the rest of the offense this week:

On paper, if you're able to limit McCaffrey to minimal damage, the Cardinals like their chances of winning a track meet in Charlotte.

Yet that's easier said than done, and although McCaffrey enters Sunday as questionable after missing the first two days of practice with a thigh injury (Adam Schefter reports he'll play), it's safe to assume he'll be as dangerous as ever when he's on the field.

Assumptions haven't worked well for Arizona lately. The Cardinals know where Carolina's bread and butter is, now it's time to see if anybody's up for the challenge that comes between the lines.

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