Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers, American professional football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers play in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the NFL and have won two conference championships (2003 and 2015).

(Read Walter Camp’s 1903 Britannica essay on inventing American football.)

The Panthers played their first game in 1995, when they joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as the NFL’s first expansion teams (new franchises) since 1976. Carolina became the most successful expansion franchise in league history when it won 7 of its 16 games in its inaugural season. The team further exceeded expectations the following year by winning 12 games, qualifying for the postseason, and advancing to the NFC championship game, in which it lost to the year’s eventual Super Bowl champion, the Green Bay Packers. The Panthers were not able to capitalize on their startling early run, however, and they posted losing records in five of the next six years, including a disastrous one-win season in 2001 that led to the hiring of new team management and head coach John Fox.

Carolina’s new leadership made a series of player acquisitions that quickly rebuilt the team into a contender. The Panthers drafted wide receiver Steve Smith and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins in 2001, and in 2002 they chose defensive end Julius Peppers with the draft’s second overall selection. In addition, the Panthers signed quarterback Jake Delhomme before the 2003 season, and the team’s revamped core led Carolina to an 11–5 record and a divisional championship the following season. In the playoffs, the Panthers beat the Dallas Cowboys, the St. Louis Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles (the latter two on the road) to qualify for the Super Bowl in their second postseason appearance. In the Super Bowl, the Panthers lost a tight contest to the New England Patriots that was decided by a Patriots’ field goal in the closing seconds of the game. Carolina remained one of the more consistently successful teams in the NFL over the remainder of the decade, with playoff appearances in 2005 and 2008.

In 2010 the Panthers posted a 2–14 record, and Fox was fired. The disastrous season did produce one very positive outcome: by virtue of recording the league’s worst record, the team had the top overall draft pick in the 2011 NFL draft, which the Panthers used to select Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton. After a few seasons of middling results, Newton led the Panthers to a divisional title and playoff berth in 2013. The following season Carolina won the historically weak NFC South, capturing the division title with a 7–8–1 record. Nevertheless, the team won its opening playoff game, before being eliminated in the following round of the postseason.

In 2015 the Panthers posted one of the best regular-season records in NFL history (15–1), and Newton won the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. The team captured the second conference title in team history, but the Panthers’ season ultimately ended in disappointment with a loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. The following year the Panthers suffered from a “Super Bowl hangover” and won just six games, finishing with the worst record in their division. The Panthers bounced back in 2017, winning 11 games to qualify for the playoffs, which resulted in a loss in the opening round. It was a short-lived turnaround, however, as Carolina finished the 2018 season with a 7–9 record.

Newton played only two games in 2019 because of a fracture in his left foot, and the team finished 5–11. Longtime head coach Ron Rivera was fired before season’s end, and during the offseason Newton—the franchise leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns—was cut from the team. The Panthers entered a rebuilding phase and missed the playoffs every year between 2020 and 2023. They also experienced frequent turnover in their coaching staff, a low point coming in 2023 when head coach Frank Reich was fired after Carolina started 1–10 in his first season with the team.

Before the start of the 2024 season, the Panthers hired Dave Canales as the new head coach. In his first season, the team finished 5–12. Carolina—and QB Bryce Young—continued to improve in 2025, and the team finished first in the NFC South division, with a 8–9 record. The Panthers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017 but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round.