Arizona Cardinals (9-7) at Carolina Panthers (12-4)
When » Tonight, 8:15
Where » Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
Line » Panthers by 10
TV » Fox
Why you should watch » To see the best of both offensive worlds.
The Panthers will run the ball until it deflates, and the Cardinals will throw it around the park until the air comes out.
Carolina is third in the NFL with 152.3 yards per game on the ground, led by DeAngelo Williams (1,515 yards rushing, 18 TDs). The Panthers average 349.7 total yards per game, which is good for tenth in the league, and their 25.9 points per game is seventh-best in the NFL.
Arizona has the NFL’s second-best passing attack at 292.1 yards per game, behind the aging-but-still-effective right arm of quarterback Kurt Warner (4,583 yards, 30 TDs, 14 INTs). The Cardinals rank dead last in the NFL with 73.6 yards per game on the ground. Still, the Cardinals are fourth in the NFL with 26.7 points and 365.8 total yards per game.
Best Arizona win » Dec. 7, vs. St. Louis, 34-10. The victory sealed the team’s first division title in 33 years. Arizona jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held on behind Warner, who completed 24-for-33 passes with 279 yards.
Worst Arizona loss » Nov. 27, at Philadelphia, 48-20. The Cardinals could have greatly improved their playoff standing against the struggling Eagles, who were in turmoil just two weeks after the benching of quarterback Donovan McNabb. But Arizona’s secondary was lit up for 260 yards and four touchdowns.
Best Panthers win » Oct. 26, vs. Arizona, 27-23. Just before its bye week, Carolina overcame Warner’s 381 passing yards to improve to 6-2. Receiver Steve Smith had 117 yards Williams rushed for 108 yards.
Worst Panthers loss » Oct. 12 at Tampa Bay, 27-3. Coming off a shutout and two weeks prior to their bye week, the Panthers put up their worst offensive showing of the season. All four Panthers’ losses came on the road, but quarterback Jake Delhomme’s three interceptions sealed the team’s worst defeat.
Who would win if the mascots fought to the death » Big Red can be unpredictable and will attack through the air. But if the Panthers’ Sir Purr is crouched and ready, the bird from the desert have no shot. Big Red makes some valiant attempts, but Sir Purr is too tough.
Game comes down to » Can the Cardinals defense slow down Williams? Williams has rushed for at least 100 yards rushing in seven of the past nine games.
Welsh predicts » Panthers 27, Cardinals 20
