Last year’s Panthers-Cardinals playoff matchup doesn’t mean a thing

The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are meeting in the playoffs for the second year in a row.

That’s where the similarities begin and end.

The Panthers throttled Arizona in the wild-card round last season, beating the Cardinals 27-16 while holding them to 78 yards, the fewest allowed in a postseason game.

Carolina’s record-setting defensive performance came against third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley, who was sacked four times, threw two interceptions and finished with a 44.3 passer rating.

Lindley was out of the league this season until the Colts signed him in Week 17. Meanwhile, Carson Palmer returned from the knee injury that sidelined him in 2014 to pass for 4,671 yards and 35 touchdowns in leading Arizona (14-3) to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

“Oh, it’s real different,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of facing Palmer. “He’s a different type quarterback, a veteran, experienced guy. He’s not afraid to pull the trigger.”

The Panthers (16-1) face Arizona on Sunday in the first NFC Championship Game to be played in Charlotte.

Coaches and players almost always say they’re not worried about previous meetings – new season, new team and all that.

But given that the Panthers faced a journeyman quarterback running an Arizona offense that produced eight first downs, Rivera says the only reason to watch the tape of the last season’s playoff win is to study the Cardinals’ schemes.

“You can’t go into a game like this saying, ‘Oh well, this is what we did to them last year,’ ” Rivera said Monday. “This is a different quarterback. He’s somebody I think is a terrific football player. For years I’ve watched him and really enjoyed who he is as a player.”

Palmer, 36, struggled early in the Cardinals’ 26-20 overtime victory over Green Bay in the divisional round. He threw for 74 first-half yards and had two interceptions in the second half – including one near the goal line – before finding his rhythm.

Palmer, who played with an injured index finger on his throwing hand, completed six passes of 18 yards or more during the second half and overtime. The highlight was a 75-yarder to Larry Fitzgerald that set up Fitzgerald’s game-winning touchdown on a shovel pass.

Big plays have long been a staple of Bruce Arians’ offense. Panthers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who was in Pittsburgh when Arians was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, says Arians used to harp on getting “chunk plays.”

“And he was mad when he didn’t get chunk plays,” Cotchery said. “They produce a lot of explosives and he has a great offense. It’s a great design. That’s why he’s been successful doing what he’s doing for a long time.”

Palmer had 15 passes of 40 yards or more during the regular season for the top-ranked offense in terms of yards per game (408.3). The Cardinals were the league’s No. 2 scoring offense (30.6 ppg), trailing only the Panthers (31.2).

Rivera heard Arians during a recent interview during which the former Temple coach says his philosophy is to play to win.

“When you watch what he does, I agree,” Rivera said. “Everything he does is attack mode as far as his offense is concerned. I think it’s a great mentality.”

The Cardinals have the same aggressive approach on defense.

Defensive coordinator James Bettcher has kept the same blitz-happy mentality as his predecessor Todd Bowles, who left last offseason to become the Jets coach.

The Cardinals have faith in their secondary – even without the injured Tyrann Mathieu – to play effective man coverage when they send as many as six or seven defenders at the quarterback.

Panthers tight end Ed Dickson says the Cardinals seem to be blitzing more under Bettcher than Bowles, although they sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers only once last weekend.

“They’ve got great corners over there that can lock down,” Dickson said. “Tough blow that they took with the (Mathieu knee injury). He was playing very well for them. But still kind of the same defense. They get after the quarterback, and we’ve got to protect our guy.”

Although the Panthers didn’t play Arizona during the regular season, they kept a close watch on the Cardinals, who chased Carolina for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage until the final week of the season.

“Basically we didn’t have time to really rest because of what they were doing over there. They have a great team,” Cotchery said. “This is how it played out. We’ve been 1 and 2 all year long, and now we’re in the Championship Game.”

And last year doesn’t mean a thing.

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Last year’s Panthers-Cardinals playoff matchup doesn’t mean a thing."