Playoff game changed Cardinals, Panthers

The Arizona Cardinals haven't been the same team since they beat Carolina in the playoffs last year.

Neither have the Panthers.

Arizona's 33-13 victory has careened the two franchises in different directions. The Cardinals, of course, went on to beat Philadelphia in the NFC title game and then play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.

That success has carried over to this season. After manhandling the New York Giants last Sunday, the Cardinals are considered one of the NFC's elite teams.

The Panthers, on the other hand, still haven't recovered from the loss.

They're 2-4 heading into Sunday's return game at University of Phoenix Stadium, quarterback Jake Delhomme is still throwing to guys in the wrong-colored uniforms, and coach John Fox's job may be in jeopardy.

All because of 60 minutes of football.

"My last memory of them (the Cardinals) wasn't great," Fox said Wednesday.

It's hard to imagine now - given the respective health of the two football teams - but few people thought the Cardinals could win in Carolina. Arizona was 0-5 in East Coast games, and there were legitimate questions about the team's mental toughness.

The Panthers, on the other hand, were 12-4 overall and 8-0 at home, including a 27-23 victory over the Cardinals in October.

When Arizona won - and won easily - it ground to dust all the skeletons in its closet.

"I just think that whole playoff run we just started to believe we could play with anybody," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "I don't know if that was the case before that. "This year even though we haven't played great football, all season long you've seen us go on the road and win some games in some tough environments. That's what we learned more than anything from that game specifically because it was our one game on the road. To go in and play the way we did was a big boost for us and something we needed as an organization."

Perhaps the most important thing the Cardinals discovered is that they could cross a couple of time zones and still play good football. They're 2-0 on the East Coast this year after beating Jacksonville and New York.

"I have no doubt that contributed to our ability to win better on the road this year," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

Carolina's decline since that January afternoon has been as swift as it has been stunning. Prior to the playoff game against Arizona, Delhomme was considered one of the league's most stable quarterbacks. He had just three interceptions the final seven weeks of the regular season.

But Delhomme self-destructed against the Cardinals - throwing five interceptions and losing a fumble - and he's still playing as if he's in a state of shock. He's tossed a league-leading 13 interceptions this year, including three last weekend against Buffalo.

"As a football player certainly it was crushing because you let your team down in the biggest game of the year when you always felt that you were the one they could count on in those situations," Delhomme said. "That was very tough."

Delhomme even admitted to having flashbacks in Carolina's 38-10 season-opening loss to Philadelphia, when he threw four interceptions.

"A ball gets batted, it gets tipped by a linebacker, tipped by one of our receivers and intercepted," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, come on. This can't be happening again.'"

Delhomme, who will start on Sunday, believes the Panthers have flushed the memories of last year's playoff loss, but their record says otherwise. Clearly, Carolina is in crisis mode.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, feel better about themselves than they ever have before.

All because of 60 minutes of football.