2012 NFC Wild Card: Panthers vs. Seahawks

Lore & Background

The Panthers were founded in 1993, when they joined the NFL as an expansion team. Their inaugural season was in 1995, where they played as members of the NFC West division. Dom Capers was the franchise's first head coach. In their first season, they recorded the best record for an expansion team in NFL history.

In their second season, they won the NFC West and reached the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers; Capers won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. The Panthers would fail to reach the playoffs in 1997, and in 1998, Capers was fired. George Seifert was hired to replace him but failed to reach the playoffs in any of his three seasons. John Fox was hired as head coach in 2002.

In his nine seasons, the Panthers made the playoffs three times and won two NFC South division titles (in 2003 and 2008). They reached Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, the NFC Championship game in 2005, and the Divisional round in 2008. Fox was not retained following a finish in 2010, and was succeeded by Ron Rivera. Rivera's tenure was the most successful in team history.

The Panthers reached the playoffs four times under Rivera, and won three straight division titles from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, the Panthers recorded their most successful regular season, finishing with a league-best record; quarterback Cam Newton received MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors. However, the team lost Super Bowl 50 24–10 to the Denver Broncos. The team last recorded a playoff appearance in 2017, when they recorded an record but lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round.

After a seven-year playoff drought and three fired head coaches (Rivera in 2019, Matt Rhule in 2022, and Frank Reich in 2023), the Panthers returned to the playoffs in the 2025 season after winning the NFC South.

Reader's Guide

The team home field and headquarters is Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, they played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina during its first season in 1995.