2014 NFC Divisional: Panthers vs. Seahawks

Lore & Background

The Panthers finished the regular season with a 7–8–1 record, winning the NFC South division title. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card round before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional round.

In Their Own Story

The air in Charlotte that January night was sharp enough to bite. Inside Bank of America Stadium, the noise had shifted from the roar of a crowd expecting touchdowns to the low, guttural hum of a crowd watching their team survive. The scoreboard glowed 9-9, the kind of score that feels like a held breath. Somewhere in the tunnel, the Panthers' defense huddled, helmets still fogged, shoulder pads scuffed from a hundred blocks and tackles. The Seahawks' offense lined up, and the stadium exhaled as one. Then the snap, the scramble, the long punt sailing into the Carolina night. The next possession, the snap, the drive, the kick arcing through the cold air. The net swished. 10-9. The stadium detonated. Strangers embraced in the stands. A season's worth of doubt, of 'what if,' of a franchise barely old enough to have a legacy, shattered into a single, ugly, beautiful number on a jumbotron. The Panthers had survived. And survival, in Carolina, was everything.

Reader's Guide

The game did not go to overtime; the final score was 10–9 in favor of the Seahawks. The Panthers' overall record after the loss was 8–9–1, and they fell to 13–27–1 when Cam Newton commits a turnover.

Did You Know?

• The Panthers became the second team to win a division title with a sub-.500 record in a full season, after the 2010 Seattle Seahawks.
• The Panthers' four-game winning streak to close the regular season, combined with a 14–0 start the following season, tied the 2003–2004 New England Patriots for the third longest regular season winning streak in NFL hist
• This was the first season since 2000 that Steve Smith Sr. was not on the opening-day roster, as he signed with the Baltimore Ravens.