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Carolina Panthers Road to the Super Bowl
Carolina Panthers Road to the Super Bowl
Week 1
The Panthers opened the 2015 season with a 20-9 win over the Jaguars. It was a one-point game until the middle of the third quarter, when cornerback Josh Norman picked off Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers defense held Bortles to just 183 yards passing on the day and picked him off twice.
Week 2
In the week 2 tilt against the Ryan Mallett-led Houston Texans, Cam Newton accounted for 21 of the 24 points Carolina scored, leading it to a 24-17 victory. Though he didn’t tear it up through the air—he threw for 195 yards, two touchdowns and an interception—he racked up 76 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. A 36-yard touchdown pass to Corey Brown with 8:53 left in the fourth quarter iced the game for the Panthers, securing a 2-0 start to the season.
Week 3
In their first division battle of the young season, Carolina hosted the New Orleans Saints in what turned out to be another close game. New Orleans jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, Carolina’s biggest deficit during the season so far. The Panthers came back, led by Newton and tight end Greg Olsen, who caught eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Newton threw for 315 total yards and added 33 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Panthers ended up winning 27-22.
Week 4
The following week, it was the Panthers who jumped out to a 10-0 lead, fueled by another Josh Norman interception returned for a touchdown, his second on the year. The Panthers never looked back, adding Ed Dickson’s 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and two Ted Ginn Jr. receiving touchdowns as well in a 37-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carolina went into its bye week with a 4-0 record and momentum.
Week 6
The Panthers traveled to Seattle to face the defending Super Bowl champions in a game that came down to the wire. Down 13 points in the middle of the third quarter, it was the rushing game that helped lead the way to the comeback. Running back Jonathan Stewart had two rushing touchdowns on top of Newton’s rushing touchdown in the second quarter. Down three points with 32 seconds left, Olsen snuck behind the Seattle secondary and Newton zipped a pass into the endzone, giving the Panthers a 27-23 victory.
Week 7
The Panthers came back home to face the Philadelphia Eagles in another ground-oriented game. Stewart rushed for 125 yards on 24 carries, Newton added 20 yards and a touchdown, and Ted Ginn had 43 yards on one carry. It was a forgettable day through the air for Newton, who threw for 197 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Panthers had a 15-point lead in the third quarter, and were able to hold off the Eagles for a 27-16 victory.
Week 8
The Panthers allowed a 17-point comeback by the Indianapolis Colts to send the game to overtime after holding a 23-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes, and Adam Vinatieri tied the game up with a 24-yard field goal as time expired. In overtime, Vinatieri hit another field goal to put the Colts up three. After the Panthers tied it on Graham Gano’s 42-yard field goal, linebacker Luke Kuechly intercepted a Luck pass, giving Carolina good field position. Gano then hit a 52-yard field goal to win the game 29-26.
Week 9
After nearly blowing a 17-point lead against the Colts, the Panthers almost gave up a 23-point fourth quarter lead to the Green Bay Packers. Newton accounted for all four Carolina touchdowns—three passing and one rushing—and the Panthers held a 37-14 lead with 9:22 left in the game. But Aaron Rodgers and the Packers scored two late touchdowns to bring the score within eight with 3:43 left. Green Bay got the ball back and Rodgers drove them down to the four with two minutes to go. On fourth and goal, Rodgers’s pass was intercepted by linebacker Thomas Davis, which iced the game for Carolina.
Week 10
The next week wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking, as the Panthers held Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans to just 10 points. Newton had 217 yards passing and one touchdown. On the ground, Newton had 23 yards and a touchdown, while Stewart had 22 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Greg Olsen continued his big season with 80 yards on eight receptions, including a backshoulder, one-handed grab in the fourth quarter. The victory gave the Panthers a 9-0 record.
Week 11
Week 11 was one of Newton’s best as he threw for 246 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in Carolina’s dominant 44-16 victory over the Washington Redskins. But this game was just as much a defensive masterpiece as it was offensive. The defense sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins five times and forced five turnovers—one interception and four fumbles. The victory gave the Panthers a 10-0 record heading into a Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
Week 12
Despite being 3-8 record, the Cowboys were a 1.5-point favorite over Carolina. Quarterback Tony Romo had returned from a collarbone injury the previous week, and Dallas was perceived to be on the rise. On the opening drive, Panthers linebacker Kurt Coleman returned an interception for a touchdown, giving Carolina a lead they would never relinquish. It was again a defense-led victory, as linebacker Luke Kuechly had a pick-six in the second quarter. Newton accounted for 228 all-purpose yards and Carolina’s lone offensive touchdown in the 33-14 win in Dallas.
Week 13
With an 11-0 record and undefeated season thoughts creeping into the forefront of everyone’s mind, the Panthers had an unexpected shootout with the Saints. Carolina fell into an early 14-point deficit, but then scored four straight touchdowns, building a 27-16 lead with 4:56 left in the third. Drew Brees led a comeback of his own, building a 38-34 advantage with 5:21 left in the game. With just 1:05 to go, Newton found receiver Jerricho Cotchery on a 15-yard pass to put the Panthers up three, giving them a 41-38 victory. Newton threw for 331 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. Ginn had 80 yards receiving and two touchdowns while Olsen had 129 yards receiving on nine catches.
Week 14
A division matchup with the Atlanta Falcons ended in a dominant 38-0 victory for Carolina. Two long touchdown passes to Ginn—74 and 46 yards, respectively—gave Carolina a 21-0 first-quarter lead. The Panthers never looked back, adding Ed Dickson and Fozzy Whittaker touchdowns to beat the Falcons 38-0.
Week 15
Carolina traveled to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants, and again almost blew a large second-half lead. Newton accounted for 440 all-purpose yards (340 passing, 100 rushing) and threw five touchdowns with no interceptions, staking the Panthers to a 35-7 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter. But Eli Manning and the Giants scored 28 unanswered points and tied the game at 35 on a Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown pass with just 1:46 to go. Newton took over and drove Carolina down the field, allowing Graham Gano to win the game on a 43-yard kick as time expired.
Week 16
Just two weeks after shutting out the Falcons, the 14-0 Panthers went to Atlanta hoping to continue the drive toward a perfect season. The game started as planned—with Newton rushing for an eight-yard touchdown. The rest of the game, however, Carolina could only muster two field goals. Matt Ryan led the Falcons back, throwing for 306 yards and a touchdown. Including a go-ahead 70-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones, who finished with 178 yards receiving and a touchdown. The Panthers lost their first and only game of the season, 20-13.
Week 17
With the thought of an undefeated season gone, Carolina took care of business in the last game of the season, beating the Buccaneers 38-10. Newton had two touchdowns through the air and two on the ground as the Panthers breezed, clinching the first-seed in the playoffs.
NFC Divisional Playoff
After Seattle snuck by the Minnesota Vikings on Blair Walsh’s missed field goal to earn a playoff date against Carolina, the Panthers jumped out to another fast start, followed by another scare in the second half. Newton threw for 161 yards and a touchdown, while Stewart rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, giving the Panthers a 31-0 lead in the second quarter. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson brought the Seahawks within seven with 1:12 to go, but Carolina recovered the onside kick to preserve the victory.
NFC Championship
Newton led the Panthers to a 17-0 first quarter lead and unlike the previous week, this time the Panthers didn't let up. Newton threw for 335 yards with two passing and two rushing touchdowns. Olsen and receiver Corey Brown both had 113 receiving yards, including Brown’s 86-yard touchdown reception in the first half. Kuechly put an exclamation point on the game with his fourth quarter, 22-yard pick-six, giving the Panthers a 49-15 victory. The Panthers now have a shot to win the first Super Bowl title in franchise history in a matchup against the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos. The last time they were in the Super Bowl, the Panthers lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots on a last-second field goal.
