Kyler Murray, Cardinals look to keep slim playoff hopes alive when they visit Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- - The Carolina Panthers have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Arizona Cardinals are hanging by a thread.
The teams meet at Carolina on Sunday with Arizona essentially needing to win out, while getting some help from elsewhere in the NFC. The Cardinals (7-7) snapped a three-game skid last week with a 30-17 win over the New England Patriots and are one game behind the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West with three to go.
The problem for the Cardinals is they've already lost twice to the Seahawks.
They beat the Rams early in the year and will face them again next week at Los Angeles. Winning the division is Arizona's easiest path to the playoffs, although the NFL calculates their chances of making the postseason at just 13%.
In the meantime, the Panthers, losers of four straight, await.
"I'm very confident that it's not a trap game because, mentally, that could never be a thing because of where we are," Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said. "Our back is against the wall, we understand that. I think in order for it to be a trap game, our record would have to be better. We'd have to be feeling not humble. We understand what's at stake and we understand it's each week for us, so we have to go play our best on the road."
Carolina (3-11) find itself in a familiar situation, playing out the string in a sixth straight season of double-digit losses under owner David Tepper.
"We're still in pursuit of just capturing our style of football: great effort, great enthusiasm, with our guys celebrating each other," first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "I've seen that grow."
Young and the restless
Bryce Young is coming off a rough game in which the second-year QB turned the ball over a career-high four times in a 30-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Young was sacked six times, and fumbled twice while trying to elude pressure in the pocket.
"Every play is important, and particularly as you start to extend plays and defenders are looking for those opportunities to know when those things happen, you're going to the ground in a vulnerable spot, we got to cover it up with two hands," Canales said of Young, who is 4-21 as an NFL starter. "When you're in the pocket, keeping two hands on it, and it's all across the board, we talk about the ball first and foremost as a team. If you have the ball, you're holding it for the whole team."
Arizona has forced 14 turnovers.
Linebacker shuffle
The Cardinals have been relatively healthy over the past month, but that changed early last week against New England, when starting LBs Jesse Luketa (thigh) and Mack Wilson Sr. (concussion) left early in the first quarter and didn't return.
Arizona managed to patch the unit together against the Patriots, using backups including Krys Barnes to fill the gaps. Luketa and Wilson didn't practice early this week, meaning Barnes, Xavier Thomas, Owen Pappoe and Julian Okwara might need to step up.
Developing a connection
Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has had a solid first season, but the Murray-Harrison connection appears capable of more.
Murray threw two potential TD passes to Harrison against the Patriots, but they were both knocked away by New England's talented young cornerback Christian Gonzalez. They were both tough catches, but Harrison should probably make at least one of them if he's going to be an elite NFL receiver. Harrison has 47 catches for 687 yards and seven TDs this season.
Coker's development
The Panthers have also been reliant on rookie wide receivers this season, but they'll be without Xavier Legette on Sunday because of a groin injury.
Jalen Coker, who had a career-high 110 yards receiving with an 83-yard TD catch against the Cowboys, is expected to start opposite veteran Adam Thielen despite being limited in practice on Thursday with a quad injury. The undrafted rookie from Holy Cross said he first realized he could play at this level when he beat a few cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage and created separation in training camp.
The team has been high on him ever since.
Stopping the run
The Panthers have allowed nearly 200 yards rushing per game over their last six contests.
That likely bodes well for Arizona's James Conner, who is coming off his best game of the season. He ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns against the Patriots.
"He can really do it all," Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. "He can run wide zone, he can run inside zone, he can run gap schemes, and he can do it from gun, from under, from pistol."
Last week, the Panthers allowed Rico Dowdle to run for a career-high 149 yards after giving up 124 yards to Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley and 156 yards to Tampa Bay's Bucky Irving the prior two weeks. The Panthers lost linebackers Claudin Cherelus (toe) and Trevin Wallace (shoulder) to season-ending injuries in Week 15, which won't help the run defense.
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AP Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this report.
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