If Carolina Panthers cornerback Cortland Finnegan was only giving up five inches and nearly 30 pounds, that'd be a big enough concern. That he'll be doing it against one of the decade's best receivers makes the matchup that much more worrisome.

Because Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals' top wideout, spends most of his time lining up in the slot, he'll spend most of his time in Sunday's NFC Championship not covered by Josh Norman, the Panthers' No. 1 corner. With Norman likely continuing to play almost exclusively on the outside, that leaves the inside assignment to Carolina's slot corner.

At least Finnegan's well aware of the challenge he's facing.

"[Fitzgerald's] a future Hall of Fame wide receiver," Finnegan said. "What can’t he do?"

If we were answering that question a year ago, the response could've been — not much anymore.

At 31, Fitzgerald looked washed up, finishing with a career-low two touchdowns and his fewest receptions since his rookie year.

But in this, his 12th season, Fitzgerald has had a renaissance. During the regular season, he caught a career-best 109 passes while scoring nine touchdowns. He added another in last week's divisional round with the game-winner in overtime. That came two plays after he zigzagged 75 yards through Green Bay's defense.

So, yeah, about being washed up ...

"He’s still running great routes, still creating separation," Finnegan said. "And the chemistry between him and (quarterback Carson) Palmer is phenomenal."

Think Carolina has its own good chemistry between quarterback Cam Newton and Greg Olsen? The tight end did catch 26 percent of Newton's completions this season. So think about this: Of Palmer's career-best 342 completions this year, 32 percent went to Fitzgerald.

"They’re a timing-based offense, so if you’re not at the right spot at the right time, or half a second too slow or too fast, you don’t quite make it," Finnegan said. "If you’re in a zone, he knows where to sit down."

And zone is probably what the Panthers will use to limit Fitzgerald. They can't do anything about Finnegan's size, but they can filter Fitzgerald into areas occupied by guys like linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis.

"A lot of things that we do, you can get help, and that's the thing that's important," coach Ron Rivera said.

Because Fitzgerald has averaged nearly seven receptions and 82 yards in 17 games, it'd be silly to think the Panthers will shut him down completely. He'll get some touches. The key is limiting what he does when he does.

That didn't go so well the last time the Panthers played the Cardinals this late in the playoffs. In the 2008 divisional round, former coach John Fox stubbornly refused to double-team Fitzgerald, who racked up six receptions, 151 yards and a touchdown. In the first half.

And his performance last week proved, seven years later, Fitzgerald is still capable of putting up huge numbers.

"I think age is one of those things where people put you in a box and for him that’s not the case. He still can do whatever you want him to do," Finnegan said. "He can run away from you, he can make you miss and he’s always been able to make great catches. What more do you want?"

If you're the Panthers, keeping Fitzgerald under 100 yards and out of the end zone would be a nice start.