Aren’t you glad that’s over?
The Carolina Panther defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 in the first of four NFL Wild Card games this weekend. And it was likely one of the ugliest postseason games in the history of the league.
Arizona’s 77 total yards represented the fewest in the history of the playoffs. Ryan Lindley finished the evening 16-of-28 passing for 82 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The two teams combined for six turnovers, 14 penalties and 14 punts.
But at the end of the day, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was just good enough to earn his first playoff victory. He hit Fozzy Whittaker and Mike Tolbert for touchdown passes in the third quarter and put up over 230 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, a rejuvenated Jonathan Stewart added 123 yards and a score on the ground.
For the Cardinals, this game went from ugly to uglier. They were down 10-0 after the first quarter, but were able to actually take a one-point led into the half, mainly due to mistakes from the Panthers. Once the whistle blew for the third quarter, it was pretty much over for Bruce Arians’ injury-ravaged squad. They couldn’t pass protect worth a darn, Lindley looked completely lost on the field and the forward pass just didn’t seem to be in the team’s vocabulary.
Despite the win, Carolina cannot feel too good about its overall performance. Depending on what happens on Sunday, the Panthers will either travel to Green Bay or Seattle for the divisional round of the playoffs. If Carolina plays anywhere near as bad as it did on Saturday, either venue will be a house of horrors for Newton and Co.
Photo: USA Today
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