CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Panthers (1-2) play the second of three-straight home games on Sunday, taking on the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) at 4 p.m. on FOX.
Scroll below for more information on the Week 4 matchup, team connections, series history and stats comparison, presented by Amazon Next Gen Stats.
Game Reset
- Carolina Panthers (1-2) vs. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
- Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, N.C.
- Sunday, Oct. 2 | 4:05 p.m. ET | FOX
- Panthers Roster | Panthers Depth Chart
- Cardinals Roster | Cardinals Depth Chart
History: Panthers vs. Cardinals
- Carolina is 14-5 all-time against the Cardinals | Series History
- Current Streak: Panthers W6
- Carolina has won six in a row in the series and is 8-3 at home all-time
- Carolina won at Arizona last year, 34-10
Player/Coach Connections
- Panthers QB Baker Mayfield and Arizona QB Kyler Murray both played at Oklahoma in 2017.
- Panthers defensive pass game coordinator Steve Wilks was head coach of Arizona in 2018.
- Panthers assistants Don Johnson and Al Holcomb were assistants with Arizona in 2018.
- Cardinals WR Greg Dortch played for Carolina in 2019.
- Cardinals P Andy Lee played for the Panthers in 2016.
- Cardinals special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers was on Carolina's staff in 2009-10.
- Cardinals assistant Cam Turner spent three years in Carolina from 2015-17.
Know Your Foe
The Cardinals' offense has gotten off to some slow starts this season.
They've been outscored 56-13 first halves of their first three games, a trend that has spelled trouble in their 1-2 start. They're also the only team in the NFL that hasn't scored any points in the first quarter, have converted a league-low five first downs in the first quarter, and tie with the Panthers for the fewest total yards in the first quarter (95).
Playing from behind has forced Arizona to commit to its passing game, which has yet to reach a consistent production level.
Quarterback Kyler Murray has completed 63.8 percent of his passes thus far (90-of-141) for 784 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. He has yet to connect deep, as this season's most explosive pass play has gone just 30 yards.
The Cardinals' offense has struggled in their two losses: a 44-21 blowout against the Chiefs and a 20-12 loss to the Rams, during which Arizona settled for four field goals
Statistical Comparison
Category | Carolina | Arizona |
---|---|---|
Offense | ||
Total Yards/Game | 276.3 (30th) | 353.3 (15th) |
Rushing Yards/Game | 115.0 (14th) | 105.3 (17th) |
Net Passing Yards/Game | 161.3 (31st) | 248.0 (12th) |
Sacks Allowed | 9 (t-23rd) | 6 (t-11th) |
Third Down Efficiency | 27.0 (31st) | 27.9 (30th) |
Points/Game | 20.7 (t-13th) | 20.7 (t-13th) |
Defense | ||
Total Yards/Game | 348.7 (18th) | 383.7 (23rd) |
Rushing Yards/Game | 134.7 (22nd) | 102.7 (t-11th) |
Passing Yards/Game | 214.0 (13th) | 281.0 (30th) |
Sacks | 5 (t-26th) | 2 (t-31st) |
Third Down Efficiency | 38.8 (18th) | 51.9 (32nd) |
Takeaways | 3 (t-18th) | 3 (t-18th) |
Points Allowed/Game | 19.7 (t-12th) | 29.0 (31st) |
AWS Next Gen Stat of the Week
Laviska Shenault Jr. had 89 total yards after catch on two receptions in Week 3. His 44.5 YAC/rec average is the most by any WR in a game since 2016 (min. 2 receptions).
His 67-yard touchdown was also the longest by any Panther in his first career reception with the team.
Notes and Trends
Christian McCaffrey back to his old ways
- Christian McCaffrey rushed for 108 yards in Week 3 for his 12th career 100-yard rushing game with Carolina.
- McCaffrey is currently tied for fifth in the NFL with 243 rush yards and is fourth with 13 rushing first downs.
It's Horn!
- Jaycee Horn had a big game against the Saints, making his first interception of the season to seal the win and tipping a pass at the line of scrimmage that led to an interception.
- Horn received an overall grade of 92.6 by PFF, third-best among qualified defenders in Week 3 as he was targeted three times and did not allow a reception.
Offensive line getting stronger
- Carolina's offensive line has had all five starters play every snap through Week 3.
- Guard Austin Corbett ranks fifth among qualified guards with a pass blocking grade of 80.3, while center Pat Elflein ranks sixth among qualified centers with a pass blocking grade of 74.4 (via PFF).
Rush Defense in Weeks 2-3
- Carolina allowed 93.5 rushing yards per game in Weeks 2-3, with a league-best defensive rush EPA (Expected Points Added) of 20.24 due to several tackles for loss in New York and the fumble recovery for a TD vs. New Orleans.
- In those two weeks, opponents had just 2.51 yards post-contact per rush (3rd in NFL) compared to 4.67 in Week 1 (29th).
Luvu Everywhere
- Frankie Luvu had a forced fumble that set up a defensive touchdown on Sunday.
- Over the last two seasons, Luvu has 55 tackles, 12 for loss, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble, all in just 430 total snaps.
- His defensive EPA per snap in 2021-22 is 0.14, ranking 11th among all qualified defenders and third among linebackers.
First Drive Defense
- Carolina ran its streak of holding opponents out of the end zone on the opening drive to 20 games. The franchise record is 28 games, set in 2005-06.
2022 Statistical Milestones to Watch
- DJ Moore (308) needs 17 receptions to pass Wesley Walls (324) for fifth-most in franchise history.
- Christian McCaffrey (48) needs two scrimmage TDs to tie Muhsin Muhammad (50) for fifth place in franchise history.
- Shaq Thompson needs 80 tackles for his fourth consecutive season with at least 100 tackles. That would tie Jon Beason (4 straight) for third-most behind Thomas Davis (5 straight) and Luke Kuechly (8 straight).
- Brian Burns (27.5) needs 1.0 sack to pass Thomas Davis (28.0) for eighth all-time in franchise history.
- Donte Jackson (12) needs one interception to tie Thomas Davis and Ken Lucas for seventh in franchise history.
- Jeremy Chinn needs 58 tackles to reach 300 for his career. Chinn has played 34 career games and only Luke Kuechly and Jon Beason reached 300 career before their 44th career games as Panthers.
- JJ Jansen (212) needs nine games played to tie John Kasay (221) for most in Panthers franchise history.
- Johnny Hekker (308) needs 34 punts inside the 20 to tie Jon Ryan for ninth all-time in NFL history.
Carolina is 14-6 all-time against the Cardinals, including a 2-1 record in the playoffs.