Cardinals vs. Panthers: Final Score, Highlights from 2015 NFC Wild Card Game

Despite having a superior regular-season record, the Arizona Cardinals entered Saturday's contest against the Carolina Panthers as the underdogs. As it turned out, Arizona simply didn't have enough offensive firepower to circumvent a tough Panthers defense, losing by a score of 27-16.

The Cardinals didn't look sharp right out of the gate, as the game started with an ugly series that included quick displays of an inaccurate Ryan Lindley and a complete lack of a running game. Of course, that led to just eight yards on three plays, and Arizona was forced to punt.

Somehow, the ensuing punt was even worse than the offense that preceded it, as Drew Butler's punt netted just 20 yards, giving Cam Newton and Co. great field position. Luckily for Arizona, its defense remained stout, allowing just 19 yards of offense and forcing Carolina into settling for a 47-yard Graham Gano field goal.

The next series wouldn't get any better for the Cardinals. This time, three consecutive running plays gained a total of nine yards, and Arizona was forced to punt. Butler mishit his kick once again, as this one went just 28 yards, giving Carolina excellent field position once more.

Newton began to drive his team down the field by completing some short passes. After four completions, Carolina found itself inside the red zone. Running back Jonathan Stewart took it from there, spinning his way into the end zone from 13 yards out.

Here's a look at the run, courtesy of the Panthers' official Twitter account:

Down 10-0, the Cardinals needed to move the ball down the field. Well, they managed to do so; albeit, in unconventional fashion. Following another sluggish offensive attempt, Butler came in to punt once again. He only managed a 33-yarder, but his poor effort was salvaged as the ball bounced into returner Brenton Bersin and was recovered by Arizona at the Panthers' 30-yard line.

An unnecessary roughness call against Carolina brought the Cardinals to the 15-yard line, and a great catch by wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald suddenly had Arizona at the goal line. The second quarter began with a one-yard touchdown pass from Lindley to tight end Darren Fells, and all of a sudden, we had a ballgame.

Take a glance at how wide open Fells was in the back of the end zone, via CBS Sports:

Even Lindley couldn't miss that one.

Five possessions later, Carolina's offense returned to the field following another terrible Butler punt. On a 3rd-and-13 play, Newton attempted to hook up with wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery; however, the veteran pass-catcher was looking in another direction and Antonio Cromartie reaped the benefits, hauling in the interception and returning it down to the Panthers' 17-yard line.

Following a few nice scampers from Kerwynn Williams, Marion Grice forced his way into the end zone from one-yard out, giving the Cardinals an improbable 14-10 lead. The scoring play was reviewed, as Grice fumbled as he approached the goal line, but it was eventually upheld. Take a look from yourself, via SportsCenter:

Gano connected on his second field goal of the day on the ensuing drive, pulling the Panthers within one point heading into halftime.

The third quarter began with a long Panthers drive that didn't yield any points; although, after punting, Lindley and Co. were forced to begin from the shadow of their own goal post. Three plays later, Butler's poor punts continued, as he belted a 31-yarder, giving Newton great field position once again.

This time, Carolina needed just one play, as Fozzy Whittaker took a short Newton pass 39 yards for the touchdown. The Panthers tweeted a look at the running back crossing the goal line:

Things only went from bad to worse for Arizona following that series of incidents.

Returner Ted Ginn Jr. fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it was recovered by Kevin Reddick at the Cardinals' 3-yard line. A defensive pass interference penalty brought the Panthers to the 1-yard line, and a pass to Mike Tolbert notched yet another touchdown.

Here's Tolbert's scoring play, via Carolina's official Twitter account:

With the Panthers now up 27-14 entering the fourth quarter, the game appeared to be well out of hand due to a Cardinals offense that just wasn't able to move the ball throughout the duration of the game. That trend continued throughout the game's final quarter.

Following two Lindley interceptions, Carolina looked to kill the game's remaining two minutes from within its own 10-yard line. On a fourth-down punt, the Panthers decided to allow kicker Brad Nortman to run around in the end zone in an effort to wind the clock down to zero. Well, that didn't exactly work and he ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety with three seconds remaining.

Arizona had time for one more play, and following a spectacle of laterals, the team lost a total of 19 yards. This actually had some significance, as the lost yardage gave the Cardinals the honor of producing the fewest yards in a postseason game in the history of the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

It just wasn't the kind of day Arizona's offense was looking for. A total of 78 yards, eight first downs, three turnovers and just 1.7 yards per play won't win many games, especially in the postseason. Luckily, this team can really chalk its struggles up to a massive amount of injuries it endured throughout the season.

The Cardinals have some decisions to make over the offseason, as maintaining Fitzgerald's contract will be an issue, and so will the rehabilitation of starting quarterback Carson Palmer. However, once this team gets healthy once again, rest assured they'll be back in contention for the postseason.

Following the big win, members of the Panthers returned to the field to show their gratitude to their fans:

Carolina's defense has now held opponents to 17 points or fewer and less than 300 total yards in each of its last four contests. This team's front seven is absolutely nasty, and it will need to be in top form in the divisional round, as the Panthers will be taking on either Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks or Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

While Carolina may have finished the regular season with a 7-8-1 record, it proved it can be a force in the playoffs. The NFL postseason is always full of unpredictable occurrences, and we've seen plenty of underdog teams get hot and go the distance. The Panthers could be next in line to do just that.