NFC playoff game: Cardinals at the Panthers (UPDATE: PANTHERS LOSE 33-13)

Today’s a big day here in Charlotte, NC as our Cats prepare to take on the Arizona Cardinals to decide which team will be one of two teams playing next week in the NFC championship game. Whoever wins this game will play whoever wins the Eagles at Giants game, which will be played tomorrow at 1 pm.

Lots of nailbiting going on around town, but the guys have looked and sounded confident this week going into tonight’s game, so hopes are high.

It’s currently 55 degrees here and it is supposed to get down to 47. The weather forecasters are saying we have a 90% chance of rain tonight, so it’s likely to be drizzling to pouring during the game, or shortly thereafter.

Game time is 8:15 ET and it will be broadcast on Fox. I’ll be out tonight watching the game with some friends – will check back in later.

Sunday AM Update: Jake Delhomme choked last night. He threw five interceptions, had the ball stolen from him once … you can’t win when things like that happen. The first half was a rout, and the Cards capitalized on all their opportunities, and had excellent field position on several drives. Our defense got it together in the 2nd half but the offense never found a rhythm and as a result, we lost 33-13 in a game that will go down as one of the biggest nightmares – not to mention embarassments – in Panthers history.

Delhomme will assume the “most hated man” status for a while in this city, but you almost feel sorry for him. He’s one of the most intense players on our team, and without him last season, we stunk. He had an impressive year this year after coming back from elbow surgery, but in the end picked the wrong game to have his worst of the season.

The Cards will go on to play the winner of the Eagles/Giants game, which should be a good one. It starts at 1 ET and will be broadcast on Fox.