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Panthers vs. Cardinals Game Preview

DJ Moore

Game Reset

Arizona Cardinals (2-1) at Carolina Panthers (1-2)
Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, N.C. | Buy Tickets
FOX | 1 pm ET | How To Watch
Injury Report | Depth Chart

History: Panthers vs. Cardinals

  • Carolina is 12-5 all-time against the Cardinals, including a 7-3 record at home.
  • The Panthers have faced the Cardinals three times in the playoffs, more than any other playoff opponent. Carolina is 2-1 in those games.
  • Current Streak: Panthers W4
  • Last matchup: Panthers won 38-20 at Arizona in Week 3 last season
Kyler Murray

Arizona is 2-1 with wins over San Francisco and Washington, but a tough loss to Detroit in Week 3.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL with 32 receptions for 356 receiving yards. The South Carolina native and Clemson product has caught 86.5 percent of his targets, ranking fourth among qualifying players.

Quarterback Kyler Murray has 786 passing yards with four passing touchdowns and a rating of 79.7. He leads all quarterbacks with 187 rushing yards, tied for fifth-most by any quarterback in NFL history through a season's first three weeks.

The Cardinals' secondary is currently banged up, and rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons could get his first start as a safety on Sunday.

Table inside Article
Category Panthers Cardinals
Offense
Total Yards/Game 372.3 (16th) 406.3 (10th)
Rushing Yards/Game 99.0 (26th) 149.7 (7th)
Net Passing Yards/Game 273.3 (9th) 256.7 (13th)
Sacks Allowed 8 (t-20th) 6 (t-14th)
Third Down Efficiency 44.4 (t-13th) 43.9 (15th)
Points/Game 22.7 (24th) 25.9 (17th)
Defense
Total Yards/Game 382.3 (22nd) 334.7 (7th)
Rushing Yards/Game 124.0 (21st) 110.0 (12th)
Passing Yards/Game 258.3 (24th) 224.7 (8th)
Sacks 2 (32nd) 11 (5th)
Third Down Efficiency 56.8 (31st) 28.6 (1st)
Turnover Margin +2 (t-9th) -3 (t-24th)
Points Allowed/Game 27.0 (t-18th) 20.3 (t-7th)

Stat Nuggets To Know

Team

  • The Panthers have four fumble recoveries in their first three games, their most to start a season since they recovered five in 2007. Carolina's six takeaways tie for its most in the first three weeks since 2002 (9).
  • Carolina has punted just eight times so far for a net punting average of 42.9. It marks the second-fewest punts (7, 1996) and second-highest net punting average (61.8, 2004) in Weeks 1-3 in franchise history.
  • The Panthers' defense has struggled on third down, allowing teams to convert on 56.8 percent of their attempts, ranking second to last in the NFL. Meanwhile, Arizona's defense leads the league, holding opponents to a 28.6 percentage on third down.
  • Carolina recorded its first two sacks of the season in Week 3. Two sacks tie for the fewest through the first three games in franchise history.

Individual

  • Robby Anderson and Arizona's Hopkins are two of three receivers in the league with multiple 100-yard receiving games so far. Anderson ranks sixth in the NFL with 278 yards on 20 catches. Anderson has a reception percentage of 83.3, tied for ninth best among qualifying wideouts.
  • Teddy Bridgewater ranks third in the NFL with a completion percentage of 74.0 (77-of-104). That's the highest for any Panthers quarterback through three weeks of a season.
  • Mike Davis caught eight passes for a second straight week, joining Christian McCaffrey as the only other Panthers running back with at least eight catches in consecutive weeks. Davis trails only New Orleans' Alvin Kamara (27) for most receptions by a running back this year.
  • Shaq Thompson leads the Panthers with 27 tackles, ranking 11th in the NFL. Last week, he became the first player with 10+ tackles, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in the same game this season.
  • Jeremy Chinn leads NFL rookies with 26 tackles and ranks second among all defensive backs. It's the most tackles by any Panthers' rookie through the first three weeks of a season.
  • Donte Jackson has two interceptions for 110 return yards, the most interception return yards in the NFL. Prior to this season, Jackson had seven interceptions for 25 return yards.

Chasing Milestones in 2020

  • The Panthers need four wins to reach 200 regular season wins. Dating back to 1995, Carolina is 196-206-1 in the regular season.
  • DJ Moore (156) needs seven receptions to pass Jonathan Stewart for 10th place in franchise history. Moore needs 32 receiving yards to pass Devin Funchess (2,233) for ninth place all-time.
  • Linebacker Shaq Thompson needs 18 tackles to pass Mike Rucker (389) for ninth place in franchise history.
  • Long snapper JJ Jansen needs four games played to pass Steve Smith (182) for second-most in franchise history behind John Kasay (221).

Notable Connections

Panthers

  • Defensive run game coordinator Al Holcomb was the defensive coordinator for Arizona in 2018.
  • Safety Tre Boston played for Arizona in 2018.
  • Wide receiver Pharoh Cooper played for Arizona from 2018-19.

Cardinals

  • Senior offensive assistant Cameron Turner was with the Panthers from 2015-17.
  • Defensive line coach Brentson Buckner played for Carolina from 2001-05.
  • Punter Andy Lee played for Carolina in 2016.

Carolina is 14-5 all-time against the Cardinals, including a 2-1 record in the playoffs.

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