Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers Preview

It has been a sluggish start to the season for the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers. What was supposed to be a midseason tilt between two NFC powerhouses is now just an early Sunday morning NFL game.

One more knife to the heart for Arizona Cardinals fans, but they cannot sleep on the Carolina Panthers, as they have a little fight left, and know that a 1-6 start means, historically, their season is over.

For the Arizona Cardinals, it is about continuing to grow and make strides, but also keeping yourself even with all the teams in front of you in the playoff race.

Here are three things to watch in this game for the Arizona Cardinals.

1. Deep Passing: Can it come back?

It has been ages it seems since the Arizona Cardinals were the explosive, vertical offense. Now, they are a grind it out, pound the rock and win with defense. That is not a bad thing, but they still need to be able to get the ball down the field.

Carolina has been... Awful this season in pass coverage. It is time for the breakout.

2. Continue to be great defensively

What a couple of weeks it has been for the Arizona Cardinals on defense, as they go for their third consecutive touchdown-less performance on defense. They are without Alex Okafor, so their speed package on passing downs is gone this week, but the Panthers offensive line is less than stellar. Shut down the run, make Cam Newton beat you from the pocket, go into the bye week 4-3-1.

3. Please... Special Teams... Don’t screw up

Check out this weeks Rise Up, See Red Podcast for even more conversation about the Seahawks game and what to expect this weekend.