WHAT TO LOOK FOR
KEYS TO THE GAME
THE CARDINALS WILL WIN IF ... They handle the pass rush and open up holes in the running game, protect the football and find a way to ground McCaffrey. THE PANTHERS WILL WIN IF ... McCaffrey has a huge game, Walker has enough time and open receivers to sustain drives and they win the turnover battle.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
CARDINALS OLB MARKUS GOLDEN VS. PANTHERS RT TAYLOR MOTON
Golden is coming off a three-sack performance against the 49ers and although he got one apiece from the left side, the right side and up the middle, he’ll be going head-to-head quite often against the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Moton, who is a mountain of a man. If he gets to Walker and brings him down, it will give him double-digit sacks for the third time. SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers lead the series 14-5, including the playoffs, and have won the past five matchups dating back to 2015. Carolina beat Arizona in an NFC Wild Card game in 2015, then won again a year later in the NFC Championship game.
DID YOU KNOW? Murray needs 31 passing yards to become the fourth-youngest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career passing yards (24 years, 99 days old). Interestingly, he’d move ahead of Newton (24 years, 191 days old) for the No. 4 spot.
HE SAID IT: “I think the sky is the limit. I know we believe that and I know people watching us are starting to kind of believe that, but that really doesn’t matter. If we can continue to recover and get fully healthy — or at least close to it — I think we’ve got a chance to do what we all want to do.” — Murray on what the Cardinals could look like if healthy.