Today at 4:20 p.m. ET the Carolina Panthers (7-8-1) will host an NFL Wildcard Round playoff matchup against the Arizona Cardinals (11-5) by virtue of winning the NFC South. Watch the clash on ESPN or live stream it free by clicking this link.
The Cardinals are underdogs by nearly a touchdown despite their superior record because of myriad injuries, most notably at the quarterback position where they've not only lost starter Carson Palmer, but backup Drew Stanton.
Ryan Lindley will be the starter this week, and he's gained a bit of confidence after throwing his first career touchdown pass last week; it took him 229 attempts.
"It was good to get the monkey off my back a little bit," Lindley said, "but I'm glad I got it out of the way in the beginning and just finished up the game and let it roll."
Despite mostly subpar work in limited career action, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Lindley will not be overwhelmed at all by the playoff stage.
"That's one thing that's got everybody excited," Arians said. "It's not been too big for him. He's as calm as you could be out there, and they all know he knows what he's doing. That's the confidence factor everybody has."
Arians also had high praise for Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, whom he said is more difficult to plan for than Colin Kaepernick or Russell Wilson.
"He presents different problems than Colin and Russell," Arians said. "He's more of a combination of both those guys. He can really throw the football extremely well from the pocket. It presents a multitude of problems for us."
Carolina is looking at the 2010 Seattle Seahawks as motivation-they are the only other team to reach the postseason with a sub-.500 record, and they upset the New Orleans Saints.
"It tells you that no matter what you do during the regular season, it just doesn't matter," running back Jonathan Stewart said. "Things amp up to a whole different notch in the playoffs."
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