Panthers play like house cats in 30-13 loss to Arizona
Titans cannot "Dash" their way into AFC Conference championship game
Ryan Ecken
Issue date: 1/14/09 Section: Sports
By Ryan Ecken
It seemed like something out of a Sylvester and Tweety Bird cartoon, whatever the cat did the bird did better. All season long the Carolina Panthers were able to run a balanced offense, running and passing the ball successfully, whereas the Arizona Cardinals ran a one-dimensional passing attack. But last Saturday night the bird, once again, outsmarted the cat.
Arizona was able to pick apart a somewhat successful defense not only through the air but also with their struggling running game. The Cardinals only averaged 83 rushing yards this season, last in the NFL, but that particular running attack was not shown in this game. Arizona ended up with 145 rushing yards for the game thus allowing them to open up their already flawless passing game. Kurt Warner was remarkable, completing 65% of his passes for 220 yards and 2 TD. The mouth-watering numbers though belonged to the Cardinals stud wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, finishing the day with 8 catches for 166 yards and one TD.
The Cardinals impressive offensive game was not the only factor in their 30-13 win over Carolina. The Panthers' equally unimpressive offensive game was extremely shocking. The Panthers' rushing game, which was ranked 3rd in the regular season, was only able to put up a total of 75 yards. Not only could the Panthers not run the ball, but their passing attack was awful. Jake Delhomme completed 50% of his passes for 205 yards, but one may wonder if his 5 interceptions for 72 yards were included in those stats.
Overall it may have been a poor performance by the Carolina Panthers but don't forget to give credit where credit is due because the Cardinals thought they saw a "Putty Tat" and they were ready to outsmart them.
Ravens 13 Titans 10 Joe Flacco became the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games in the Ravens victory against the Titans. He completed 50% of his passes for 161 yards and 1 TD in this great defensive matchup.
Titans rookie running back Chris "Dash" Johnson was injured in the 2nd quarter and did not return to the game, which would end up being a devastating loss for the Titans. Johnson ran the ball 11 times for 72 yards with 1 TD and had 1 reception for 28 yards. With Johnson in, the Titans were able to put up 200 plus yards in the first half but in the 2nd half the Titans had difficulty moving the ball rushing for only 37 yards and putting up only 135 total yards.
Stats courtesy of NFL
It seemed like something out of a Sylvester and Tweety Bird cartoon, whatever the cat did the bird did better. All season long the Carolina Panthers were able to run a balanced offense, running and passing the ball successfully, whereas the Arizona Cardinals ran a one-dimensional passing attack. But last Saturday night the bird, once again, outsmarted the cat.
Arizona was able to pick apart a somewhat successful defense not only through the air but also with their struggling running game. The Cardinals only averaged 83 rushing yards this season, last in the NFL, but that particular running attack was not shown in this game. Arizona ended up with 145 rushing yards for the game thus allowing them to open up their already flawless passing game. Kurt Warner was remarkable, completing 65% of his passes for 220 yards and 2 TD. The mouth-watering numbers though belonged to the Cardinals stud wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, finishing the day with 8 catches for 166 yards and one TD.
The Cardinals impressive offensive game was not the only factor in their 30-13 win over Carolina. The Panthers' equally unimpressive offensive game was extremely shocking. The Panthers' rushing game, which was ranked 3rd in the regular season, was only able to put up a total of 75 yards. Not only could the Panthers not run the ball, but their passing attack was awful. Jake Delhomme completed 50% of his passes for 205 yards, but one may wonder if his 5 interceptions for 72 yards were included in those stats.
Overall it may have been a poor performance by the Carolina Panthers but don't forget to give credit where credit is due because the Cardinals thought they saw a "Putty Tat" and they were ready to outsmart them.
Ravens 13 Titans 10 Joe Flacco became the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games in the Ravens victory against the Titans. He completed 50% of his passes for 161 yards and 1 TD in this great defensive matchup.
Titans rookie running back Chris "Dash" Johnson was injured in the 2nd quarter and did not return to the game, which would end up being a devastating loss for the Titans. Johnson ran the ball 11 times for 72 yards with 1 TD and had 1 reception for 28 yards. With Johnson in, the Titans were able to put up 200 plus yards in the first half but in the 2nd half the Titans had difficulty moving the ball rushing for only 37 yards and putting up only 135 total yards.
Stats courtesy of NFL
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