Poor Panthers fold to Cards

Can still bring it: Warner

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Kurt Warner led the Arizona Cardinals to a 33-13 victory at the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the NFL play-offs.

The Cardinals advanced to the NFC championship game on the back of Warner's 220 passing yards and two touchdowns.

It was a brutal evening for Warner's opposite number Jake Delhomme, who finished 17-for-34 for 205 yards with one touchdown and five interceptions, tying a post-season record.

Delhomme, on the occasion of his 34th birthday, also lost a fumble as Carolina suffered their first home defeat of the season.

Arizona, who beat Atlanta in last week's wildcard round, made light of the absence of wide receiver Anquan Boldin due to a hamstring injury.

Larry Fitzgerald made up for the loss of his fellow wide-out, setting a play-off franchise record with 166 yards receiving and a touchdown on eight catches.

Turnovers

After gifting the Panthers a quick Jonathan Stewart touchdown on the opening possession, Arizona capitalised on a flurry of turnovers by Delhomme to reel off 33 unanswered points.

The Cardinals took the lead for good in the first quarter when they scored twice in the space of 56 seconds.

Warner capped a six-play, 60-yard drive with a three-yard pass to Tim Hightower to tie the game at 7-7 with two minutes and 47 seconds to play in the opening period.

The big play of the drive was a beautiful leaping catch by Fitzgerald which resulted in a 41-yard gain to Carolina's 10-yard line.

On the ensuing Panthers drive, Antonio Smith came up with the pivotal play of the first half, swatting the ball away from Delhomme and recovering the fumble at the 13-yard line.

Two plays later, Edgerrin James scored on a four-yard run for a 14-7 lead. James rushed for 57 yards on 20 carries while Hightower had 76 yards.

Interception

The Panthers seemed poised to tie the game on their next possession but rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie came up with an interception at the goal line on the first play of the second quarter to snuff out the danger.

The Cardinals extended their advantage to 17-7 when Neil Rackers booted the first of his four field goals.

Following another three-pointer by Rackers, Delhomme turned the ball over for the third time in the half and once again it led to points for Arizona.

On the third play of the drive, Warner hit Fitzgerald on a crossing pattern and the Cardinals' wideout stretched the ball over the goal line for a 29-yard touchdown and a 20-point lead at 27-7.

Rackers landed further field goals from 33 and 20 yards to put the Cardinals 33-7 up. Carolina reduced their margin of defeat to 20 points when Steve Smith pulled in a late touchdown catch.

The Cardinals will play the winner of Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants in the NFC championship game.