Carolina Panthers - Pro Football Betting, Online Sportsbook Casino
Carolina
Panthers History
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Carolina Panthers, professional football
team and one of five teams in the Western Division of the National
Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL).
Under the league’s realignment plan, which will take affect
in 2002, the Panthers will play in the South Division of the
NFC. The Panthers play at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North
Carolina, and wear uniforms of black, blue, and silver.
During the 1996 season the Panthers won their division and qualified
for the playoffs. It was only their second year of existence,
and this was the earliest an NFL expansion team had ever encountered
such success. During the previous year, the team won seven games—the
most ever by an NFL expansion team.
In 1993 Panthers founder and owner Jerry Richardson was awarded
the first new NFL franchise since 1976, when the Seattle Seahawks
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had joined the league. Two years later,
Carolina and fellow expansion team Jacksonville Jaguars began
play. Former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Dom Capers
was named the Panthers’ first head coach.
After losing the first 5 games of the 1995 season, Carolina
won 7 of its last 11 games behind wide receivers Mark Carrier
and Willie Green. During the season the Panthers defeated the
San Francisco 49ers to become the first expansion team ever
to beat a defending league champion.
In 1996 the Panthers stunned the NFL by winning 12 games and
capturing the NFC Western Division title. Quarterback Kerry
Collins and running back Anthony Johnson anchored the offense.
Carolina put together the second-best defense in the NFC, featuring
three Pro Bowl linebackers: Kevin Greene, Lamar Lathon, and
Sam Mills. Michael Bates was the league’s top kickoff
returner, averaging 30.2 yards per return. Placekicker John
Kasay led the league in scoring, converting on a league-record
37 field goals. Capers was named coach of the year. After capturing
the division title, Carolina defeated the Dallas Cowboys in
the playoffs before losing the NFC Championship Game to the
eventual Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers.
The franchise experienced its worst year ever in 2001 when it
went 1-15 and lost 15 consecutive games, an NFL record. A turnaround
came quickly, however. In 2003, under head coach John Fox, the
team finished the regular season 11-5 and qualified for the
playoffs as the winner of the NFC’s South Division. During
the regular season and in the playoffs, the Panthers won several
come-from-behind games. They advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII
and appeared on the verge of another comeback when they tied
the New England Patriots with about one minute left to play.
The Patriots kicked a field goal with about four seconds left
and won the game in one of the most dramatic finishes in Super
Bowl history.
2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII Lost to New England Patriots, 32-29 |
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