Carolina Panthers Lead Arizona Cardinals 6-3 At Half
By Scott Allen
Oct 6, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; The Arizona Cardinals offensive line squares off against the Carolina Panthers defensive line during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
If the Arizona Cardinals offense last week was putrid, as head coach Bruce Arians put it, then I’m really going to be interested to see how he describes it if things continue on the current path, a 6-3 halftime lead by the Carolina Panthers.
The second quarter didn’t get any better offensively for the Cards except they did manage to tie the game with a field goal. Carolina Panthers receivers Steve Smith and Brandon Lafell have kept the Cards in the game with big drops. Smith dropped his pass in the first quarter in the end zone that would have give the Panthers a touchdown. Then Lafell dropped a crucial fourth and one pass wide open down the middle that would have kept what was a really good drive going and was into the red zone.
This is not to say the Cards defense hasn’t had their moments. Linebacker Karlos Dansby has been a monster. He already has two sacks of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. They have let Newton run free though a bit and it’s kept Carolina drives alive. Patrick Peterson had a huge interception with under a minute left in the half.
At some point the Cards are going to have to open it up. They need to target receiver Larry Fitzgerald more. He had been targeted just once until the final drive of the half. The favorite receiver so far for the Cards has been Michael Floyd. He has three catches for 42 yards. The Cards though did get a last chance to move the ball down the field thanks to the Peterson interception. However Carson Palmer disappointed again and threw another end zone interception with 32 seconds left.