Things are not going nearly as well as expected for either the Arizona Cardinals or Carolina Panthers through seven weeks of play in the NFL. And if we're going by last season setting the expectations for this year alone, it's Ron Rivera's Panthers who have come out looking far worse for the wear.
Carolina is 1-5 coming off a 15-1 regular season and a Super Bowl appearance, while the Cardinals, expected to transition into one of the league's elite teams this year, are 3-3 under Bruce Arians in six games. The last time these two teams played, they were facing off in a pivotal NFC Championship matchup and now they're both just struggling to pick up a win.
Sunday's game between the two will take place at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, and will be broadcast on FOX. A live online streaming option will be available via FOX Sports GO, but it will require login credentials from a cable or satellite provider.
The Panthers have lost four consecutive games since beating the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. The Cardinals are coming off an extremely disappointing tie against the Seattle Seahawks in their last outing, but before that had won their previous two games.
That did, of course, include a win over the hapless 49ers as well, and also a dominant win over a turnover-prone New York Jets team.
Rivera says he's confident in his Panthers team, but the reality of it is that they were only one season removed from incredibly poor play when they shocked the rest of the league a season ago. They took a massive step forward in 2015, but it also meant that when 2016 rolled around, there was plenty of room to take that very same single step backward. They've done that and there is no relief in sight for Carolina.
The next bit of their schedule is on the easier side, as they face the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints in the coming weeks, but they already have a loss to the Saints. They have also fallen to the similarly struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even let the 49ers push them for two quarters of play back in their only win of the season.
For Arizona, they'll get a wonderful breather in the form of hosting the 49ers for their second meeting this year after they play the Panthers, but then have tough games against the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons ahead of them. They need to win if they're to keep pace with the Seahawks after playing them to a tie at home in thier last outing.
Carson Palmer's struggles at the quarterback position have been a big reason the Cardinals haven't found success. Palmer, who was experiencing a nice career resurgence in Arizona, has tossed just seven touchdowns and five interceptions while being sacked 16 times this season. In the NFC Championship game, Palmer threw four interceptions against the Panthers.
How to Watch Cardinals vs. Panthers on Sunday
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Sam Rosen, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
Online Streaming: Sunday Ticket, FOX Sports GO