THE PANTHERS:
- Outscored opponents 111-43 during their four-game win streak.
- Rushed for 975 yards in their final five games, the highest total in the NFL during that timeframe.
- Ranked second in points allowed, fifth in total defense and sixth in pass defense during their four-game win streak.
- Allowed the league’s second-fewest points per game in December (10.8).
- Racked up 17 of their 40 sacks in their last five games.
THE CARDINALS:
- Outscored opponents 102-64 in the fourth quarter this season. Their 64 points allowed in the fourth were the fewest in the NFC.
- Led the NFC in red-zone defense (43.9 TD pct.) and tied for NFL lead allowing 18 red-zone touchdowns.
- Had 27 sacks in their final eight games after they had just eight sacks in their first eight games.
- Held opponents to 20 or fewer points in 13 games, the most in the NFL.
- Have allowed an NFL-high 25 touchdowns to TEs the past two seasons.
- Scored 73 points in the final six weeks of the season, the least by any playoff team since 1936.
- Scored four offensive touchdowns in their last 27 quarters.
- Are 16-4 against teams from outside the NFC West over the last two seasons.
- Will be playing their seventh postseason game in the last seven seasons. They played just seven playoff games between 1933 and 2007.
PANTHERS:
- QB Cam Newton is the only player in NFL history to start his career with four seasons of 3,000-plus pass yards and 500-plus rush yards
- WR Kelvin Benjamin was third among NFL rookies with 73 catches, 1,008 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.
- TE Greg Olsen is the only TE in the NFL with 5-plus receiving touchdowns in every season since 2008.
- LB Luke Kuechly led the NFL in tackles (153) for the second time in his three seasons. His 11 passes defensed were tied for the second-most among LBs.
- K Graham Gano led the NFC with 61 kickoff touchbacks and leads the league with 124 kickoff touchbacks in the past two seasons.
CARDINALS:
- QB Ryan Lindley is looking to become the first QB to win a playoff game with one or fewer regular-season wins since Gifford Nielsen did it with the 1979 Oilers.
OTHER NOTES:
- The Panthers are 2-0 in Wild Card games. The Cardinals are 3-0.
- Winners in the Wild Card round have won the Super Bowl nine times, including three of the past four seasons. At least one Super Bowl participant in seven of the past nine years played a Wild Card game.
- This will be the sixth Wild Card game between teams with a four-game difference in the win column. The team with fewer wins has gone 4-1.
“LB Luke Kuechlyled the NFL in tackles (153) for the second time in his three seasons. His 11 passes defensed were tied for the second-most among tight ends.”
Which tight end had the most passes defended? 🙂
“LB Luke Kuechlyled the NFL in tackles (153) for the second time in his three seasons. His 11 passes defensed were tied for the second-most among tight ends.”
Which tight end had the most passes defended? 🙂
The stat I discovered today that I find most “shocking”: Everyone, including Panther’s fans, struggled to understand how Carolina was going to replace Smith, Lafell, and Ginn. The Panthers ended up with 500 MORE passing yards than 2013 (there was one less TD and one less INT). This did not come at the expense of the running game, as the team ended up with a few more rushing yards than 2013.
I think 99% of the population owes Gettleman an apology for doubting him on the WR (and to some extent the QB) situation for this year – I was certainly one of those. (Still room for improvement though, but if Benjamin and Philly take it to the next level next season and Olsen and Cotch are still around, I think we should be good in the WR department in 2015).
The stat I discovered today that I find most “shocking”: Everyone, including Panther’s fans, struggled to understand how Carolina was going to replace Smith, Lafell, and Ginn. The Panthers ended up with 500 MORE passing yards than 2013 (there was one less TD and one less INT). This did not come at the expense of the running game, as the team ended up with a few more rushing yards than 2013.
I think 99% of the population owes Gettleman an apology for doubting him on the WR (and to some extent the QB) situation for this year – I was certainly one of those. (Still room for improvement though, but if Benjamin and Philly take it to the next level next season and Olsen and Cotch are still around, I think we should be good in the WR department in 2015).
Too many stats, what’s important is the panthers are on a role. They are the more confident team and Cam is playing like Cam he’s fearless the D is doing what it did last season. (Domination). Panthers 24 Cards 7.
Too many stats, what’s important is the panthers are on a role. They are the more confident team and Cam is playing like Cam he’s fearless the D is doing what it did last season. (Domination). Panthers 24 Cards 7.
crawpappy heh, good catch. not sure how that happened.
crawpappy heh, good catch. not sure how that happened.