NFL Playoffs Picks: NFC Championship – Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
The NFC Championship prediction doesn’t have much of a Z-Code output and with good reason. The Carolina Panthers have been dominant this season, but looked vulnerable down the stretch after injuries began to take their toll. They run the ball effectively and Cam Newton is having a season for the ages. Still, I’m going to take the Arizona Cardinals in this one.
I think that the Arizona Cardinals have enough balance offensively to score on the Carolina Panthers defense. If they can get ahead, I think the Carolina Panthers will have a hard time playing from behind. What’s more, I think the Cardinals have the passing game to come from behind if the Panthers get ahead early, so the ability of the Panthers to suffocate a game and run out the clock might be mitigated in some ways. The balance of the Arizona Cardinals offense, combined with the aggressiveness of this defense, is what pushes me to the road team here.
I think that Cam Newton will have trouble passing against the Arizona Cardinals secondary. The Cardinals can focus on the run and hopefully find a way to stop the Carolina Panthers. If the Giants can almost do it, and the lowly Falcons can actually do it, I trust the aggression of the Arizona Cardinals to make this a very exciting game.
Z-Code is pretty much silent on this one, but public money is not. The Carolina Panthers are a big favorite with the public at home. 69% of the money is on the Carolina Panthers ML at the time of this post. 70% is on the Panthers -3. I’m going to stick with my teaser on the Denver Broncos and make this one a +10 push-tie teaser. I’m also going to take small bets on +3.5, +3, and Cardinals ML.
Cardinals 31 – Panthers 27
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