All of what you are describing as "sloppy", is the result of coming up against a great defense.
Nobody figured Denver's offense was going to move the ball much against Carolina's defense; the question all along was, 'was Denver's defense good enough to shut down Carolina's offense?'. The answer to that question was, yes.
Go back and watch the tape... early throws, bad throws, getting pressed hard in the pocket, the OT's unable to contain and/or control Denver's DE'sk etc. Denver's defense was simply lights-out great all night. Real pleasure to watch.