These teams have been headed in opposite directions, with the Panthers winning four in a row and the Cardinals losing four of six.
Because of injuries, the Cardinals are down to third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley, who threw his first two NFL touchdown passes in the regular-season finale, a 20-17 loss in San Francisco.
The Panthers counter with Cam Newton, who has recovered sufficiently from a rollover car accident that caused two fractures in his back. He led his team to consecutive NFC South titles for the first time in franchise history, even though the 7-8-1 Panthers are only the second team to win its division with a losing record.
No-fly zone: The Panthers have long searched for the right combination in their secondary, and they seem to have found it. In the last four games, they have limited opposing quarterbacks to an average passer rating of 64.6, second to the Seahawks in the NFC. The Panthers have surrendered 43 points during that span, second in the league to the Seahawks’ 33.
One change: In those four games, the Panthers started a pair of rookies, cornerback Bene Benwikere and safety Tre Boston, and that has worked well for them.
Unintimidated: These teams played in Arizona in Week 5 of last season. The Cardinals sacked Newton seven times, once for a safety, and intercepted three of his passes.
Although much of the defensive personnel is different — the Cardinals have been ravaged on that side of the ball — defensive coordinator Todd Bowles knows how to draw up a game plan to exploit Newton’s weaknesses.
Newton recalled that 22-6 defeat: “We had somewhat of a lackluster performance, whether you want to call it those guys doing their job better than we did ours, what have you. We lost and that’s pretty much it.”
It’s no snap: Lindley showed significant improvement from his first start of the season to his second, completing 40.9 percent of his throws against the Seahawks and 58.9 percent against the 49ers.
“He was in a comfort zone (against the 49ers,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “You could see his leadership come out. He started talking in the huddle more, and guys started responding. It was a nice step forward.”
Lindley is 1-5 as a starter, his lone victory coming in one of four starts as a rookie in 2012.
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Farmer’s pick: Watch for an upset here. If the Cardinals can rattle Newton the way they did last season and contain running back Jonathan Stewart — both doable — they could kick off the playoffs in a dramatic way. Look for Arians to play conservatively with Lindley while allowing him to take some shots downfield from time to time. Cardinals 20, Panthers 13.
By the numbers
Per-game averages, except for sacks and turnover margin, which are season totals (league ranking in parentheses).
ARI / CAR
Points scored 19.4 (24) / 21.2 (19)
Points allowed 18.7 (5) / 23.4 (21)
Pass offense 238.0 (14) / 219.4 (19)
Rush offense 81.8 (31) / 127.2 (7)
Pass defense 259.5 (29) / 227.8 (11)
Rush defense 108.7 (13) / 112.0 (16)
Sacks 35 (24) / 40 (13)
Penalty yards 74.5 (32) / 47.5 (5)
Turnovers +8 (5) / +3 (13)