NFL | Arizona flies East, dominates Panthers 33-13

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Arizona Cardinals were expected by most to be easy prey in another futile trip to the East Coast.

Instead, Kurt Warner has the Cardinals one victory from their first Super Bowl appearance — with a big assist from Jake Delhomme and the bumbling Carolina Panthers.

The once-discarded Warner was steady in a 33-13 rout of the Panthers on Saturday night, throwing two touchdown passes, while Delhomme was intercepted five times and lost a fumble.

The target of jokes for years with their history of ineptitude, the Cardinals became the last NFC team to reach the conference championship since the 1970 merger with a win few saw coming.

Entering as a 10-point underdog and ridiculed for their 0-5 record in the Eastern time zone this season, Arizona (11-7) raced to a 27-7 halftime lead and cruised past the mistake-prone Panthers (12-5), who were the league's only unbeaten team at home in the regular season.

"It's a group of guys that put their mind to going out and playing great football," Warner said. "Everybody that needed to step up, stepped up. Everybody that needed to make a play, made a play, and that's what it's all about."

They got plenty of help from Delhomme, who turned in a brutal performance on his 34th birthday. Just one shy of the NFL playoff record for interceptions, Delhomme became the first player to have five picks in the playoffs since Oakland's Rich Gannon in the 2003 Super Bowl against Tampa Bay.

He completed 17 of 34 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. His woes made Steve Smith a non-factor. The Pro Bowl receiver didn't have his first catch until the final minute of the third quarter.

"I'm at a loss for words," Delhomme said. "Usually I'm not. For one reason or another, I didn't give us a chance tonight."

Smith caught a meaningless 8-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme with 50 seconds left, when the Cardinals had already begun looking forward to either visiting the New York Giants or hosting Philadelphia on Jan. 18.

"I'm putting on my Philly hat right now," said Larry Fitzgerald, who had eight catches for 166 yards. "We would love to have a home game."

The Cardinals didn't miss Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin (hamstring), who sat out.

Arizona had been embarrassed when it ventured far from home, but the closest it came was a 27-23 loss here in October when the Cardinals blew a two-touchdown lead.

Cardinals 33, Panthers 13

Car — Stewart 9 run (Kasay kick), 11:56.

Ari — Hightower 3 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), 2:43.

Ari — James 4 run (Rackers kick), 1:47.

Second quarter

Ari — FG Rackers 49, 10:16.

Ari — FG Rackers 30, 5:28.

Ari — Fitzgerald 29 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), 3:32.

Third quarter

Ari — FG Rackers 33, 4:40.

Fourth quarter

Ari — FG Rackers 20, 3:10.

Car — S.Smith 8 pass from Delhomme (pass failed), :50.

A — 73,695.

Rushing — Arizona, Hightower 17-76, James 20-57, Arrington 2-11, Warner 3-1, T.Smith 1-0. Carolina, Williams 12-63, Stewart 3-12.

Passing — Arizona, Warner 21-32-1-220. Carolina, Delhomme 17-34-5-205.

Receiving — Arizona, Fitzgerald 8-166, Breaston 4-28, Arrington 3-10, Urban 2-5, James 1-9, Castille 1-3, Hightower 1-3, Doucet 1-(minus 4). Carolina, Muhammad 5-55, Stewart 3-39, Rosario 3-28, S.Smith 2-43, Jarrett 2-27, Hoover 1-7, Williams 1-6.

Missed FG — Arizona, Rackers 53 (SH).