CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A year ago, the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers met with a spot in the Super Bowl at stake.On Sunday, theyre simply trying to gain traction as theyve encountered unexpected struggles across the first half of the season.I feel good about us coming into this stretch, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. We have a lot of really good guys in that locker room who have a lot of confidence. They work really hard. We have an opportunity now because we have some really good football players, but again we have to go and execute.The Panthers (1-5), who are coming off an open date on their schedule, havent won since the second week of the season. Arizona (3-3-1) is trying to regroup after Sunday nights bizarre 6-6 tie with the Seattle Seahawks.Its the ultimate team game for a reason, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. It takes all three phases to win a game.So now its a rematch of last seasons NFC championship game, though this matchup has a largely different vibe. Carolina won in a 49-15 romp last January in a game that Rivera acknowledged went well from the start and throughout for the Panthers.That hasnt been the case during the opening weeks of this season.Now is the time that weve got to respond, Panthers defensive tackle Kawann Short said.Rivera has insisted that its not too late for the Panthers to make something of the season. He pointed out that with two of the NFC South teams losing games last weekend that theres ample chance for the Panthers to factor into the divisional title.You just have to keep believing that you have an opportunity, Rivera said. It bodes well for us as we go into this stretch of the season.The Cardinals are in second place in the NFC West.Our football team is very, very resilient, Arians said. Its a long journey to the end.Arizona has the second-best defensive rating in the NFL by holding opponents to 289.6 yards per game. The Cardinals havent surrendered a touchdown in their last two games. Carolinas offense has cranked out 371.5 yards per game for the fourth-best mark in the league.Despite those numbers, the teams dont have records that correspond to those statistics.The Cardinals had 90 snaps against Seattle and it still wasnt enough.We didnt get the result we want and now we have to go play the Panthers, tight end Ifeanyi Momah said.Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer threw 49 passes without an interception against the Seahawks. In the playoff game last season against Carolina, he was picked off four times.The Cardinals lost receiver Jaron Brown to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the Seattle game. On the plus side, its possible that receiver John Brown could be back after missing a game with a leg ailment.It will be interesting to see who plays against us and whats their attitude about how they want to attack, Rivera said.Panthers left tackle Michael Oher stayed in concussion protocol at the beginning of the week, so his status remains unclear although Rivera reported that significant progress has been made. Oher already has missed three games.Otherwise, the Panthers report a healthy roster, aided by the week off. Rivera said he liked the attitude since the team returned from the weekend away from football.The energy level was very high, he said. A lot of good things happen for us.For the coaching staff, Rivera said the week without a game was a chance to self-scout and determine what will best suit the team for the final 10 games of the regular season.We need to put them in situations to be successful, he said.After last weeks Arizona result, both coaches have a tie on their career records. The Panthers tied the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014, though the 37-37 outcome was vastly different from the game the Cardinals just experienced.This will be the 10th meeting in 10 seasons between the teams, who have met three times in the postseason during that span. The Panthers hold a 10-5 series edge overall.The game was originally set for a late-afternoon time slot, but it was changed under the NFLs flex scheduling to the early afternoon. Clearance NBA Jerseys UK . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Authentic NBA Jerseys UK . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. http://www.cheapnbajerseysuk.com/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Cheap Authentic NBA Jerseys UK . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Wholesale Jerseys UK . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson spent countless hours during No. 20 West Virginias bye week getting a head start on figuring out ways to slow down Texas Techs Patrick Mahomes.The Mountaineers (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) did it last year, and theyll find out whether a defense that began the season with nine new starters is ready for the nations passing leader when they travel to Texas Tech (3-2, 1-1) on Saturday.Although West Virginia was tested in its first four games, it avoided having to defend against a prolific offense. All that changes in the high-scoring Big 12, starting with Mahomes.He threw for 504 yards and two touchdowns with a sore shoulder and ran for three more scores in a 44-38 loss at Kansas State last Saturday.He must have had some good medicine, said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. He didnt look hurt to me.Weve got our work cut out for us on defense.Thats why Gibson has been in the film room looking for ways to exploit Texas Techs offense.I havent found it yet, Gibson said.At least his defense, comprised mostly of seniors, has so far shown its not the weak spot that many thought it might be after being decimated by graduation and the loss of safety Dravon Askew-Henry to a knee injury before the season.West Virginia has allowed only four touchdown passes total and has yet to yield a 300-yard passing effort.Weve got a chip on our shoulder, said West Virginia safety Jarrod Harper. Weve got something to prove. We just want to continue to prove people wrong and continue to make plays and try to be the strong link of the team.Harper, one of the few returning starters, leads the Mountaineers in tackles. Justin Arndt, one of four new starting linebackers, is first in tackles for loss with four and shares the team lead with lineman Noble Nwachukwu (wah-CHOO-koo) with two sacks.Two transfers at cornerback have helped. Starter Antonio Crawford, who came to West Virginia from Miami, sat out a 17-16 win over Kansas State two weeks ago with a shoulder injury.dddddddddddd He will return for the Texas Tech game along with Maurice Fleming, a graduate transfer from Iowa who started in Crawfords place but was limited in the second half against Kansas State with an ankle injury.David Long got his first start at linebacker against Kansas State and, although he had only three tackles, prompted a prediction from Gibson that the redshirt freshman could break West Virginias career record for tackles before hes done.Getting to Mahomes will be a tall task, though.We cant sit back and watch, Long said. Just go after him and make plays on the ball. Lets not panic. Lets stay calm. All we can do is go out there and play football.Last week Kansas State returned a Mahomes interception for a first-quarter touchdown and stopped Texas Techs offense on downs three times in the second half.A year ago in Morgantown, Mahomes was held to a season-low 196 passing yards in West Virginias 31-26 win.Weve got to force him into tough situations and tough reads, Harper said. I think if we do that, well be good.Mahomes threw three TD passes against the Mountaineers last year, but Gibson noted the Red Raiders also were forced to kick a pair of short field goals and West Virginia forced a turnover inside its 20-yard line.Hes a gambler, Gibson said. He is going to take his chances on third down and try to keep his offense out there. We have to do a great job on critical downs.Then again, Gibson noted Texas Tech this season is scoring an offensive touchdown once every 11 plays.Thats not real comforting, he said.---Follow John Raby on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jraby-apAP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '