The magical season for the hometown Carolina Panthers will continue this Saturday at 8:15pm at Bank of America Stadium as the Arizona Cardinals roll into town on the heels of their defeat of the rival Atlanta Falcons on Saturday. The Panthers secured a first round bye and home field advantage by virtue of their season ending victory over the New Orleans Saints in their last game of the regular season and now it’s onto the ‘second season’ as many people call it.
It’s pretty exciting to have the NFL Playoffs coming to town and the Panther’s have a pretty good track record in the post-season. The team has previously hosted 2 playoff games at home here in Charlotte, NC and have come out on top in both of those contests. Those were pretty sweet victories as well because they were over the much-hated (at least in my household) Dallas Cowboys.
Even though it won’t be the Cowboys coming to town, the Cardinals will still present a pretty tough match-up, but I think our Panthers are up to the task of showing these birds just how smash-mouth football is suppossed to be played.
My prediction for the game:Â Panthers 28 – Cardinals 14
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Ahhhh, the impact just one play can have. Did you watch the Panther’s game yesterday in which they suffered their first loss of the season? If not, then let me fill you in.
From The Charlotte Observer:
The Panthers held a seven-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. They faced third-and-8 at their 29.
They could’ve played it safe and called a running play, hoping to maintain their lead at halftime.
They chose a more aggressive approach, throwing instead of running, but nothing too risky.
It came oh-so-close to working.
Instead, it backfired dramatically.
Minnesota cornerback Antoine Winfield blitzed from Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme’s right side and decked him full-force, causing a fumble. Winfield picked up the loose ball at the 19 and ran it in for a touchdown.
Suddenly, the score was tied and the Vikings were on their way to a 20-10 victory.
Needless to say, the whole momentum of the game changed on that one play and as a result, they Panther’s suffered their first loss of the year. Fortunately, there’s still a long way to go and the Cats are tied atop their division with Atlanta and Tampa Bay, both at 2-1 as well.
In case you can’t tell, I’m a HUGE Panther’s fan and LOVE kicking back and watching them play on Sunday’s. Even when the loss comes down to just one, momentum changing play!
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After a long, but somewhat exciting off-season, my beloved Carolina Panthers are finally ready to kick things off again! Sure, they’ve played 4 pre-season games, but let’s face it, they don’t hold a candle to the regular season.
The pundits and know-it-all talking heads are pretty mixed up when it comes to where the Panthers will finish this season as the predictions are all over the board. I for one think they’ve underestimating them. I’ll go out on a limb and say they win 10 games, win the division, and make it to the NFC Championship game. Again.
Of course I could be totally wrong and they could fall flat on their faces, which of course would mean John Fox would probably get the boot. I like him so I’m really hoping that doesn’t happen.
Anyway, the long, dreadful wait is finally over as the Panthers kick off on Sunday against the favored San Diego Chargers at 4:15pm ET.
Go Panthers!
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