CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Ken Lucas was called for a pivotal pass interference penalty late in Carolina’s loss to the New York Giants in Week 16, it marked the first and only such penalty for the Panthers all season.

Here’s a quick and early look at “rematch” weekend around the league in the Divisional Playoffs: Baltimore at Tennessee - These two teams met in week five and the Titans won 13-10 in Baltimore. This is going to be a hard-hitting game and right now the Ravens defense is going to be tough to score against.

Of the four divisional playoff games this weekend, the Arizona Cardinals - Carolina Panthers match-up is easily the least enticing. The Cardinals stumbled to the title in the NFL’s weakest division, while Carolina is a talented team without a lot of national hype. With three other games that pit fierce division rivals ( Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants ), two stout defenses ( Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans ) and teams playing a rematch of the game with the most thrilling ending of the year ( San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers ), why is the NFL subjecting us to the Cards-Panthers in Saturday primetime

After a wild card weekend in which all the home teams were underdogs (and went 2-2), we’ll head into divisional weekend, not surprisingly, with all the home teams as favorites . And in at least one case, a heavy favorite

So, how was everyone’s New Year’s Eve? Good, I trust?

(By Nancy Stancill, nstancill@charlotteobserver.com) Do you have a Carolina Panthers room or mancave, devoted entirely to Panthers memorabilia? I’d love to feature a good one in our Saturday Home & Garden section.

Arizona Cardinals Key vs. Atlanta was… The play of the Arizona front four. Rightfully maligned as an inconsistent and lethargic unit late in the season, Clancy Pendergast’s defensive line exploded against a somewhat undersized Falcons front five

As the Carolina Panthers prepare for the fourth playoff appearance in team history, their success has retailers’ cash registers singing.

Going into Saturday’s game vs the Falcons, you could have made a lot of money if you would have bet that the Cardinals would have more rushing yards than the Falcons.

After three days of what coach John Fox called “zippy work” in practice, the Carolina Panthers are taking the weekend off to rest and await the identity of their opponent for Saturday’s home playoff game. The Panthers (12-4) have a first-round bye and will play Arizona or Minnesota. “We’ll have good familiarity there,” Fox said, referring to the fact the Panthers have played all three teams this …