Cardinals Look to Get Revenge Against Panthers in Home Opener

The Arizona Cardinals prepare to host their first NFL game of the 2025 season, as they welcome the Carolina Panthers for a Week Two matchup on Sunday. This matchup brings a lot of intrigue for Arizona, as it will be looking to not only go 2-0 for the first time since the 2021 season but also to potentially get revenge from last season’s matchup, when Carolina pulled out a 36-30 overtime Week 16 victory in Charlotte. Entering that game, the Cardinals were looking to right the ship after taking down the New England Patriots at home to end a three-game skid coming out of the bye week, two of which were against the division rival Seattle Seahawks. However, despite still holding hopes of making the postseason, it would not become a reality after dropping a crucial game in a competitive battle. 

In Arizona’s Week One matchup against the New Orleans Saints, the Cardinals found a way to survive a late scare by the Saints, where the game came down to the final play at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. From an offensive standpoint for Arizona, while it was enough in the end to get the job done, there was a lot left to be desired. More specifically, in the second half, the Cardinals could only manage to put up an additional three points the rest of the game. Granted, another three points could have been added, but the 46-yard try midway through the fourth quarter was blocked. Nevertheless, despite having an offseason to work on perfecting this offense, it went stale when needed most. As for the defense, the exact opposite occurred, as following a quick three-and-out stop on the first drive, the Saints would go on to score on the next two drives that followed. However, with the offense being stagnant, the defense picked up its play through the majority of the second half, giving New Orleans no room to try and come back until late in the fourth quarter. While the game was nearly taken to overtime, the Arizona defense did what it needed to do in the end to help secure a season-opening win on the road. 

For the Panthers heading into this weekend’s matchup, they’ll be looking to get their first win of the season after dropping their season opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-10 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. This game followed a very similar format to the Cardinals-Saints game, as the Jaguars used a 17-point second quarter to help fuel their efforts in obtaining a Week One win at home. On top of that, Carolina’s offense struggled to find any success from the second quarter until its first drive of the fourth quarter, where the Panthers would score their lone touchdown of the game. Quarterback Bryce Young entered his third year, looking to build off the momentum gained from finishing the 2024 season 2-1, including the overtime win over Arizona at home. However, Young wasn’t able to replicate that success, as he went on to struggle against the Jacksonville defense, completing 18 of his 35 passes for 154 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Young also went on to add 40 yards on five rushes, but also had a lost fumble late in the second quarter. On the defensive side, Carolina struggled to hold down a promising Jaguars offense for most of the game. While the Panthers did intercept Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence once, that was the extent of Carolina finding any success in Week One. 

Heading into this Week Two matchup, the Cardinals are currently favored to win, but the Panthers do have the upper hand in taking this team down late last season. Granted that some parts of the team are different, Carolina will look to not only obtain its first win of the season but also establish another winning streak like it had before, when the Panthers won six consecutive games against Arizona. If this matchup is anything like last season’s matchup, I’d expect another high-scoring affair. If I had to predict this matchup, I would currently take the Cardinals to get the home win over Carolina, by a score of 24-17. The matchup between Arizona and Carolina is set to kick off at 4:05 p.m. EST from State Farm Stadium in Glendale. The game will also be televised on CBS.