(Photo courtest of Arizona Cardinals)

Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton.

The Arizona Cardinals go into Saturday's NFC playoff game against Carolina without quarterback Drew Stanton. Coach Bruce Ariens said Stanton isn’t ready to play after suffering a knee injury.

Ariens said Stanton’s health is improving, but he’s still not ready to play in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Ariens said reserve quarterback Ryan Lindley will start his third consecutive game.

“I think he’s more than ready now to play extremely well," Ariens said. "You know there’s a true belief we’re going to win the game. There’s no doubt about it.”

Ariens said Lindley is “light years” ahead of where he was when he started against Seattle two weeks ago. The Cardinals take their 11-and-5 regular season record to Charlotte, N.C. against the Panthers.

Kick off is at 2:35 Saturday afternoon.