Panthers monitoring Hurricane Ian as team prepares to host Cardinals
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Tracking Ian
Ian could pack wind gusts of 35 mph to 40 mph, enough to topple trees in soil weakened by the tropical storm’s expected 4 inches to 6 inches of rain this weekend. This is the latest information on the storm.
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As Hurricane Ian continues to move closer to the Carolinas, the Panthers are preparing for familiar foes.
While the Matt Rhule era has only garnered 11 wins in 36 regular-season games, two of those victories have come against the Arizona Cardinals and coach Kliff Kingsbury, whom the Panthers will host on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium at 4:05 p.m.
Rhule’s second NFL win came against Kingsbury in 2020, as the Panthers defeated the Cardinals 31-21 at home. To this day, that is the only victory under Rhule to come from a game in which the Panthers gave up 17 or more points to an opponent.
Carolina also won last year’s Kyler Murray-less rematch against the Cardinal 34-10 in Arizona at State Farm Stadium. Following that Week 10 victory, the Panthers lost nine consecutive games, with the miserable losing streak finally getting stomped out last Sunday in a 22-14 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Rhule and Kingsbury have actually faced off four times prior to their Week 4 matchup. The two began their head-coaching careers in college, and Rhule’s second stint as a head coach led him to Baylor where he battled Kingsbury’s Texas Tech Raiders twice during his first two seasons at the helm.
Kingsbury got the best of Rhule in their initial meeting in 2017, as Rhule oversaw a 1-11 team with little representation of his recruiting touch. In the 2018 rematch, Rhule’s Baylor Bears defeated Kingsbury in his final game with Texas Tech, a 35-24 regular-season finale throttling that was capped by Kingsbury’s dismissal from the rival program the following day.
Despite the 3-1 overall record against Kingsbury, Rhule is taking a humble approach to this year’s battle, as both squads enter the game with identical 1-2 records.
“I think Kliff Kingsbury is a tremendous, tremendous football coach and offensive mind,” Rhule said after practice Wednesday. “He’s really a challenge because he attacks you in so many different ways. He attacks you, obviously, with Kyler Murray — a great quarterback. Attacks you with the running game — they have the NFL’s No. 1 rushing success running game right now — so when they run it, they’re having a lot of success.
“A great two-minute offense — they attack with you tempo, attack you with the screen perimeter game, and they attack you with play-action shots. ... I think Kliff — he can mold his system to the talent he has, and he can always find a way score to score a ton of points.”
The Cardinals, who play in a dome, will need to prepare for any weather impacts ahead of the game. The hurricane, which made landfall Wednesday on Florida’s west coast, is forecast to weaken after it hits land. The inclement weather forced the Miami Dolphins to travel to Cincinnati early ahead of their “Thursday Night Football” matchup against the Bengals.
The “Sunday Night Football” showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs is still set to take place at Raymond James Stadium, according to ESPN. The Buccaneers left Tampa for Miami on Wednesday to practice in South Florida throughout the week and avoid Hurricane Ian’s path.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL is monitoring the weather and could use U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as a potential contingency plan for the Tampa-K.C. game. The Minnesota Vikings are facing the New Orleans Saints in London on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
If Hurricane Ian continues on its projected track, the Cardinals and Panthers could be in for some heavy rain on Sunday. While that might be to the Panthers’ advantage, the home team — which preaches the importance of protecting the football and making sound tackles — isn’t taking the storm’s potential impact lightly.
“We have the turf, so it should be a clean surface to play on,” Rhule said. “Just have a rain plan, but we’ve kind of had that for the last couple of weeks because we’ve expected rain in the other games, the home games, and haven’t. So we’re keeping an eye on it. Hope everyone stays safe throughout the country, and we’ll just play it by ear as we know more.”
Injury update: Christian McCaffrey dealing with quad injury
The Panthers started their week of preparation for the Cardinals with near-perfect attendance. Running back Christian McCaffrey, who always receives a rest day on Wednesdays, still landed on the injury report due to a quad injury.
Rhule noted that the star tailback felt some discomfort in his thigh following the win over the Saints. When asked if McCaffrey would have practiced if it was a Thursday, Rhule declined to speculate.
“He didn’t practice (Wednesday) as normal,” Rhule said. “Has a quad that he’s dealing with, so we’ll hopefully know more by (Thursday), check him day to day.”
Along with McCaffrey, the Panthers are a bit banged up in the secondary. Starting cornerback Jaycee Horn (calf), backup defensive back Stantley Thomas-Oliver and safety Xavier Woods (hamstring) were all limited during the workout. Tight end Ian Thomas (ankle) and wideout Laviska Shenault (hamstring) were also limited.
Shenault was one of the heroes in the win over the Saints. Shenault’s 67-yard touchdown score in the fourth quarter essentially clinched the 22-14 win for the Panthers.
“There’s concern with all of them. Any time they’re on the injury report, I’m a little bit nervous,” Rhule said. “I think they’re all day to day. There’s no one I’m saying they’re out for the game, so I think they’re all day to day.”
When soccer and football meet in the middle ... on the field
While the Panthers aren’t immediately concerned about the impact of Hurricane Ian, the franchise and fellow of Bank of America Stadium tenant Charlotte FC are preparing for the inclement weather. As the two organizations did earlier this month when major inclement weather was set to strike the area during a co-opt game weekend, the teams painted the field with football and soccer markings on Wednesday.
Charlotte FC is set to host the Philadelphia Union on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., prior to Sunday’s Cardinals-Panthers battle. The early dual-painting is a precautionary measure for both teams, as rainy weather could impact the ability to paint the markings during the weekend.
MLS markings will be in yellow, while the NFL markings will be in white. Following the Union-Charlotte FC matchup, the yellow lines will be removed in time for Cardinals vs. Panthers.
Defenders trade jobs over the span of three days
Linebacker Arron Mosby and defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon have swapped spots.
Mosby was cut from the 53-man roster on Monday to make room for Nixon on the active depth chart. Nixon, a 2021 fifth-round pick, was promoted from the practice squad on Tuesday. Mosby, who passed through waivers unclaimed, was then signed to the practice roster — filling Nixon’s empty spot — on Wednesday before the first workout of the week.
Nixon played in Week 3’s win against the Saints and performed admirably during his limited action of nine snaps. Nixon was a practice-squad elevation last week. He had two more elevations left in eligibility before he would have been subject to waivers.
Mosby, an undrafted rookie, spent the first two weeks of the season on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster ahead of the win over the Saints. Like Nixon this past week, Mosby was elevated from the practice squad in Week 2 and played 16 special teams snaps against the New York Giants. Mosby was inactive against the Saints.
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 4:48 PM.
