However, they were defeated by top-seeded Carolina Panthers in the NFC championship by a score of 49–15, played in Bank of America Stadium, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Cardinals committing seven turnovers, tied for the most turnovers in a conference championship game since the Los Angeles Rams were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys abruptly in the 1978 season by a score of 28–0.

Kaepernick became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw 2 pick sixes to begin the game.

The Cardinals failed to stop the Rams all game long, only being held to 5 field goals and a touchdown, as a result of ending their three-game winning streak to start the season.

The Steelers were led by backup quarterback Landry Jones in this game due to the absence of Ben Roethlisberger.

Carson Palmer would throw 2 interceptions while he threw the ball 45 times, completing only 29 passes in the process.

In this rematch of Super Bowl XLIII, this would turn out to be the Cardinals' only road loss of the season.

The Cardinals would trail 20–10 at halftime, but they would come back to win 34–20 behind a 300-yard passing, 4-touchdown game from Carson Palmer.

The Cardinals would build leads of 28–14 and 31–21 in the third and fourth quarters, but the Bengals would come back to tie the game 31–31 on a Mike Nugent field goal.

With their seventh straight win, the Cardinals improved to 11–2 and clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs.

A defense forcing 4 turnovers and sacking Aaron Rodgers 9 times, combined with Carson Palmer throwing for 265 yards, 2 touchdowns and only 1 interception, gave the Cardinals a 38–8 blowout against the Packers.

Against the Seahawks, the Cardinals had a chance to move to the #1 spot in the NFC standings with a win and a Carolina Panthers loss to the Buccaneers.

At halftime, down by 24 points (and with Carolina leading Tampa Bay 24–3), notable starters including quarterback Carson Palmer were pulled from the game.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals would take the lead after Michael Floyd caught another touchdown that was tipped by Packers cornerback Demarious Randall in the end zone.

Aaron Rodgers would end up throwing a 61-yard pass to Jeff Janis to put the Packers at the Cardinals 35-yard line.

Later, with 5 seconds remaining, Rodgers would throw another Hail Mary pass to Janis to tie the game at 20 and force overtime.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 14–3, remain the only team in the NFL to be undefeated at home in the playoffs, and advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 2008.

After the Cardinals called heads to win the coin toss, Carolina dominated the game from start to finish.