NFL Profiles: Carolina Panthers

Who are the Carolina Panthers?

As we edge closer and closer to the Super Bowl, we spend time thinking about who will end up on that field in the biggest sporting event of the year. While the Panthers are not a prospect for the 2021- 2022 Super Bowl, that’s not to say that they might not surprise us. The Panthers have not had the most legendary history, but it is one worth knowing. So, in the light of football season, let’s take a look at all there is to know about the Carolina Panthers. 

The Panthers are based in Charlotte, North Carolina, they have won two conference championships so far, one in 2003, and one in 2015. 

They played their first game in 1995 when they joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as the NFL’s first expansion teams since 1976. They became the most successful of these expansion franchises in league history when they won 7 of their 16 games in their inaugural season. 

They continued to exceed expectations in their following year, winning 12 games and qualifying for the postseason, then advancing to the NFC championship game, where they lost to that year’s eventual Super Bowl champions- The Green Bay Packers! 

Whether you love the Panthers as a local supporter, or if you just love their game, maybe you just love betting on their NFL money lines. Whatever the case, they may not be a major contender this year, but that’s not to say that the Panthers don’t have the game, because they do have plenty. 

History of the Carolina Panthers.

After the Carolina Panther’s loss to the Green Bay Packers for Super Bowl participant, they did not capitalize on their startling earned run. Instead, they posted losing records in five of the next six years, this included a horrendous one-win season in 201 that led to the hiring of new team management and the head coach John Fox. After a run like this, they knew they needed to bring someone new on board who would help them gain back their wins and become something more than a one-win wonder.

Their new leadership made a series of player acquisitions which quickly rebuilt the team into a contender. They drafted wide receiver Steve Smith, and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins in 2001, then in 2002 they chose defensive end Julius Peppers with the draft’s second overall selection, and then they signed quarterback Kale Delhomme before the ‘03 seasons. 

With their core revamped, this led the Panthers to an 11-5 record and a divisional championship in the following season. In the playoffs, they beat the Cowboys, the Rams, and the Eagles to qualify for the Super Bowl in their second postseason appearance. In that Super Bowl, they lost a very tight contest to the Patriots, which was decided by a Patriots’ field goal within the closing seconds of the game. 

They remained to be one of the more consistently successful teams in the NFL over the rest of that decade, they even had playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008. 

In 2010, they posted a weak 2-14 record and Fox was fired. They ended up picking Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton in 2011 as a result. And, after a few middling seasons, Newton led them to a divisional title and playoff berth in 2013. The season after this, they won the NFC South, with a 7-8-1 record at the division title. 

The following season they saw one of the best regular-season records in NFL history at 15-1, en route to capturing the second conference title in team history, however, they lost to the Broncos in Super Bowl 50. 

They seemed to suffer from a Super Bowl hangover after that, winning only six games, however, they bounced back in 2017, winning 11 games to qualify for the playoffs, which resulted in a loss in the opening round. 

They are a team who have always been, nearly there, but never there, could that change soon?

2021 Stats for the Carolina Panthers.

We might love the  Panthers, but there is no use dwelling on the past. Let’s see their stats for the 2021-2022 regular season so far! 

As it currently stands in the first weeks of December 2021, the Carolina Panthers have won 5 games and lost 7 so far, currently the same as other NFC South franchises the Falcons and the Saints.