ARIZONA CARDINALS

What Wolf is watching for as the Arizona Cardinals host the Panthers

Sep 20, 2019, 5:29 PM | Updated: Sep 25, 2019, 1:25 pm

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 08: Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals hands the ball to David ...

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 08: Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals hands the ball to David Johnson #31 during a game against the Detroit Lions at State Farm Stadium on September 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

The Arizona Cardinals will attempt to win their first game of the 2019 season in a Week 3 matchup with the winless and Cam Newton-less Carolina Panthers.

Our own 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station Ron Wolfley says there are three things he’ll be looking for on Sunday.

How much will the Panthers commit to running the ball if the game is close?

Defensively, the Cardinals’ biggest strength is stopping the run. Arizona has held opposing running backs to under four yards per carry through two games.

“Quarterbacks have hurt them on boots, zone reads, scrambles, but that’s not the same as getting your face kicked in at the line of scrimmage as we all know,” Wolf said.

In last week’s 23-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for 120 yards on 16 attempts (7.5 yards per carry), but held Mark Ingram and Co. to 56 yards on 17 attempts (3.29 yards per carry).

With Kyle Allen making his second career start in place of the injured Newton, the Panthers will want to keep the likes of Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs from getting to their second-year quarterback.

Wolf said that the best way to do that is for Carolina to be able to run the ball effectively and keep Allen in third and manageable situations.

“They don’t want to become one dimensional, right?” Wolf said. “They don’t ever want to become one dimensional. Because if and when that happens, it’s time to turn out the lights. The party is over.”

Can the Cardinals run the ball effectively in the red zone?

It’s no question what Arizona’s Achilles’ heel has been offensively. The team is just 2-of-8 this season when in the red zone (second-worst in NFL), including going 0-of-3 inside the Ravens’ five-yard-line in Week 2, becoming the first team to manage that feat in over three decades.

Wolf says the Cardinals don’t have to be balanced prior to the Panthers’ 20-yard-line, but they do need to run the ball effectively in the red zone.

“The NFL red zone is really a different animal, it just is,” Wolf said. “You can get away with throwing the ball at the college level in the red zone, but you cannot do it in the NFL. You have to be able to run the ball and stay balanced if you want to be a good red zone team.”

Kyler Murray’s ability to throw the ball against the Panthers’ pass defense

The strength of Carolina’s defense is their ability to limit their opponent’s yards through the air. The Panthers rank No. 3 and No. 9 in fewest passing yards per game (186) and passing yards per play (10.1).

Simply put, it’ll be a battle of Carolina’s pass defense against Arizona’s Air Raid offense.

Wolf said that although the sample size may be small, the Panthers have two good corners in Dante Jackson and James Bradberry alongside safeties Eric Reid and former Cardinal Tre Boston, who both play a “buttoned-up back end.”

“Will Kyler Murray be able to throw the ball with the accumane and the accuracy and the intelligence that we have seen him throw the ball through two games?” Wolf said.

Array

Arizona Cardinals

Tush push...

Associated Press

Chiefs think they have answer for Eagles’ tush push in Super Bowl

No team has taken advantage of the tush push the way the Eagles have, but the Chiefs think they have an answer for a play deemed unstoppable.

7 hours ago

Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort looks on. It's officially NFL mock draft season with Arizona's...

Tyler Drake

NFL mock draft tracker: What will Cardinals do with No. 16 pick?

A look across the NFL mock draft landscape when it comes to the Arizona Cardinals' No. 16 overall pick in this year's draft.

17 hours ago

Bidwill...

Associated Press

Former Cardinals employee files lawsuit against owner Michael Bidwill for verbal abuse

A former assistant to Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill filed a lawsuit against him, saying that she was verbally abused during her tenure.

1 day ago

Larry Fitzgerald...

Damon Allred

Larry Fitzgerald praises Kenny Dillingham following ASU offer to son Devin

Larry Fitzgerald threw some credit Kenny Dillingham's way following his son's recent offer to be a Sun Devil.

2 days ago

Arizona Cardinals is embracing change amid coaching staff carousel....

Tyler Drake

‘Part of the business’: Cardinals’ Jonathan Gannon facing new challenge in Year 3

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is facing a new reality with the departures of multiple assistants this offseason.

3 days ago

A recent ESPN mock draft has the Cardinals taking two cornerbacks in the first two rounds of the NF...

Brandon Cadiz

ESPN’s Matt Miller has Cardinals taking two CBs in Mock Draft

ESPN's analyst Matt Miller has the Cardinals taking two cornerbacks with their first two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

4 days ago

What Wolf is watching for as the Arizona Cardinals host the Panthers