Things are not going particularly well for the Arizona Cardinals on the offensive side of the ball, but they lead the Carolina Panthers 14-13 in their wild card playoff game on Saturday. Through two quarters of play, the Cardinals have found the end zone twice, when Ryan Lindley hit Darren Fells for a 1-yard touchdown pass and Mario Grice took in a 1-yard touchdown rush.
Cardinals vs. Panthers halftime score: Arizona leads despite offensive struggles
The Arizona Cardinals haven’t looked good, but they lead the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.
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Carolina also scored on a touchdown rush, as Jonathan Stewart took one into the end zone from 13 yards out, while kicker Graham Gano made field goals of 47 and 39 yards. But costly turnovers have the game much closer than it's looking on the stat sheet. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has thrown for 103 yards, while Lindley has thrown for just 45, but Newton has a pick while Lindley has a touchdown.
So Lindley has the higher passer rating, despite doing things like this:
Through one half, the Cardinals have just 65 yards off of 29 plays, with a per-play average of 2.2 yards. Despite starting two drives in Arizona territory, the Panthers only turned those two possessions into three points. They also had a missed field goal by Gano. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have punted five times through two quarters, with both scores coming on drives in which they started from the Carolina 30- and 17-yard lines.
Carolina might be able to take the lead and seal this game if it can clean up some of the egregious mistakes. Those mistakes are keeping the Cardinals in the game. The Panthers will get the ball to start the second half.
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