Cardinals vs. Panthers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NFL Playoffs

The Carolina Panthers' Wild Card Round performance was much like their regular season: It wasn't always pretty, but they are moving on anyway. 

Ron Rivera's squad, which became the first team since the 2010 Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs with a losing record, booked a spot in the divisional round with a sloppy 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. 

As ESPN's Trey Wingo noted, Carolina followed in Seattle's footsteps:

The Panthers turned the ball over three times and committed a number of mental mistakes, but Jonathan Stewart ran for 123 yards, the defense held an injury-riddled Arizona squad to just 78 yards of total offense, and Carolina held the ball for just over 37 minutes. 

Fox Sports' Craig Morgan and Grantland's Bill Barnwell put the Cardinals' lackluster offensive output in historical perspective:

Cam Newton threw for 198 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, earning his first playoff win and leading Carolina to its first postseason victory since 2005.

Although the Panthers entered as favorites against the Cardinals, who were without Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton and Andre Ellington, among others, winning wasn't always a certainty. CBS Sports' Will Brinson summed up an unusual first half:

The Panthers controlled play on both sides of the ball for much of the opening 30 minutes, but a pair of mistakes dug them into a hole. 

First, Brenton Bersin failed to get out of the way of a non-fielded punt, as the ball rolled into him and was quickly recovered by Justin Bethel. The Cardinals took advantage, going 30 yards for their first score of the game. 

Later in the half, Newton had a miscommunication with Jerricho Cotchery, and his throw sailed right into the hands of Antonio Cromartie, who returned it 50 yards and set Arizona up for another short touchdown drive. 

When the half was over, Stewart had more yards (70) than the Cardinals (65), but Arizona held a 14-13 advantage. As SportsCenter's Twitter feed noted, that has been a good indicator of success this season:

But Arizona was playing with very little room for error, not only because its offense was nonexistent, but also because punter Drew Butler was consistently giving the Panthers solid field position. 

Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith noted Butler's struggles:

After the fifth of those poor punts, Fozzy Whittaker finally made the Cardinals pay. The seldom-used second-year back took a screen from Newton and weaved through Arizona's defense for a 39-yard touchdown. 

NFL.com's Chris Wesseling pointed out the importance of Whittaker after wide receiver Philly Brown was lost in the first half with a shoulder injury:

Ted Ginn fumbled away the subsequent kickoff, and after a controversial pass interference call on Tony Jefferson in the end zone, Newton tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to Mike Tolbert. In less than two minutes, the Panthers had scored 14 points and taken a 27-14 lead. 

With the way the Cardinals offense was moving—or not moving—that would prove to be an insurmountable lead. Early in the fourth quarter, ESPN Stats & Info illustrated the carnage:

Arizona got a chance to cut into the lead when it recovered a Newton fumble inside the Panthers' 10-yard line, but Ryan Lindley immediately threw an interception to Luke Kuechly. 

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar was not kind of Lindley, who was miserable all night and finished 16-of-28 for 82 yards and two fourth-quarter interceptions:

ESPN Stats & Info added more:

For Arizona, it's obviously a disappointing end to a once-promising season. 

But the Cardinals weren't dealt any favors in the injury department. If the offense gets healthy, they still have the defense to remain competitive in 2015. 

The Panthers, meanwhile, will await Sunday's matchup between Dallas and Detroit to determine whether they play the defending champion Seahawks or the Green Bay Packers. 

As NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah noted, the real winner from Saturday night may have been whichever of the two teams sitting at home ends up hosting the Panthers next weekend:

Either way, though, the Panthers are still alive—and they'll have to clean things up drastically if they want to keep it that way.