Inside the Numbers: Panthers vs Cardinals Game Preview
The monkey is off the back for the Carolina Panthers after defeating the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday, snapping a nine-game losing streak that dates back to mid-November of last year.
Matt Rhule's "hot seat" may have dropped a few degrees in temperature, but it's still pretty toasty. One win isn't going to put him in the good graces of the fan base or more importantly, owner David Tepper. The Panthers will need to prove that last week wasn't just a fluke and that they're close to turning the corner. It's not going to be easy thanks to a challenging four-game stretch that starts with Arizona this week.
Fortunately, Rhule does have some history with Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and has dominated the matchup going 2-0 against him at the college level and 2-0 in the NFL.
"I think Kliff is a tremendous football coach and offensive mind," said Rhule. "It's a real challenge because he attacks you in so many different ways. He attacks you obviously with Kyler Murray. Attacks you with the run game - they have the NFL's number one running game right now. Great two-minute offense. They attack you with tempo. They attack you with the screen and perimeter game. And they attack you with play-action shots. Kliff can mold his system to the talent that he has and always finds a way to score a ton of points."
Enough of the coaches. How do the Panthers match up against the Cardinals? Let's break it down.
Carolina's passing game has struggled to find its footing through the first three weeks of the season as new quarterback Baker Mayfield ranks 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game (161.3). Mayfield is completing passes at a 51% clip which is ten percentage points below his career average. You can blame the lack of execution on a number of things but both Mayfield and offensive coordinator, Ben McAdoo, agree it all starts with footwork and ball placement.
"You give yourself the best chance to be consistent if your footwork is consistent and your eyes and your feet are tied together," McAdoo said. "Some guys it may matter more than others and that's just something we're working through and we just keep hammering away at it. He does a lot of great things at practice and the more you practice that way, the more it will carry over to the game."
Mayfield may receive most of the blame but there's enough to go around and the receivers and the offensive line shouldn't be exempt. Rhule feels good about where Baker is heading into this week's game and believes it will take a collective effort to get the passing game on track.
"I think Baker's going to play great this week. He's focused. He's prepared. I want to see the line play great. I want to see the receivers play great. I just want to see us complete balls because I think we have the playmakers to complete balls. I mean just take what the defense gives us and let's convert third downs. I think he had a good practice today. He'll have another good one tomorrow. To me, the challenge is that whole offensive group. Getting guys open."
If there were a week where the Panthers find some answers, this might be it. Arizona is allowing 281 yards through the air per game, which ranks 30th in the NFL. Now, those numbers may be a bit skewed considering they've faced Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr (in a game that went to overtime), and Matthew Stafford but still, it's a secondary that has shown it can be vulnerable.
Considering running back Christian McCaffrey has yet to practice this week (thigh), the Panthers are going to need Mayfield and the receivers to produce at a high level as it looks like they very well could be without their star back.
"Obviously, Christian is a special player. He's one of the best players in the league," said McAdoo. "Whether we have him or whether we don't, obviously that's up to the medical team and coach. But we'll be ready for him if we do have him and we'll be ready if we don't."
CARDINALS
Much like Carolina, Arizona's offense hasn't quite lived up to its potential. DeAndre Hopkins, one of the best receivers in the game, is suspended for the first six games of the season but it's not like the Cardinals don't have other dudes that can make plays. Marquise Brown, A.J. Green, and tight end Zach Ertz are all capable of putting together a 100-yard game on any given week. In addition to those three, Arizona is expecting to see the return of Rondale Moore who has been nursing a hamstring.
On the other side, the Panthers finally created some takeaways last week, three of them to be exact, after failing to generate a single turnover in the first two games of the season. Although defensive coordinator Phil Snow will continue to preach punching at the ball and being aggressive when the ball is in the air, he wants his unit to limit the number of explosive plays they allow.
"It is [concerning]," Snow said. "It's crazy because we gave up as many yards on six plays as we did 58. We normally don't do that. The guys talked about it. They've been talking about it since the game. We just don't give up big plays like that and that's where most of the yards were gained. We know we can't play great defense and give up big plays."
Limiting the big, explosive plays is easier said than done with Kyler Murray quarterbacking the offense. Several Panthers complimented Murray this week about his comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders a couple of weeks back, some of whom brought it up unprompted.
Matt Rhule and Phil Snow know the challenge that awaits.
"What Kyler did at the end of the game against the Raiders, it was absolutely magical," Rhule said. "He's someone I competed against in college and have known for a long time. He can do it all. He can run. He can scramble to throw, he can scramble to run. He can do it all and he's fearless. I think the key for us is we've just got to focus on ourselves. We understand the problems but we can't be reckless and play timid. We have to rush Kyler like we do everybody else and we have to trust our coverage. He's one of the rare athletic players I've ever seen in my life. I mean, I saw him do things on the college football field that made me just want to walk off the field."
"Every time you play him, it's just, hold onto your [seat]," Snow stated. "He is so dynamic back there. He's tough to play against like all the good ones are. I don't think the success rate two years ago has anything to do with this game. Every game has its own identity. We've just got to do a nice job of containing him. There's not much he can't do."
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