Carolina Panthers must keep the ball out of Kyler Murray’s hands
The best way to beat a great offense is to not play against them.
There is a reason why teams are obsessed with bleeding away the clock when facing players like Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. The fans have seen them drive down the field and score in less than 30 seconds far too often.
Kyler Murray may not be on that level yet but the point still stands for the young quarterback. If the ball isn’t in his hands, then he can’t make a play.
Murray is an improviser, scrambler, make it happen, kind of player and that’s the kind of thing that can pick a defense apart. Think of it like leaving a pitcher in to face a batter for the third time, they’ve seen all the tricks and can focus on beating that one weakness they barely missed last time.
The Carolina Panthers’ defense may be pretty good. But they aren’t going to shut out this Cardinals team by any means and the offense isn’t going to outscore anyone either. So the only way to keep this game respectable is to limit their opportunities.
How do the Panthers accomplish this?
Run the ball and sustain a drive for once.
Multiple three-and-outs won’t beat many teams in this league and they are a recipe for disaster against the Cardinals because all that means is more time of possession and scoring opportunities.
This game will come down to whether or not the Panthers can be patient and take their time driving down the field. If Arizona wins the time of possession battle it could get ugly very quickly.