2015 NFC Divisional: Panthers vs. Falcons

Lore & Background

Despite waiving longtime running back and franchise rushing leader DeAngelo Williams and losing top wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a torn ACL in the preseason, the Panthers had their best regular season in franchise history and one of the best regular seasons in NFL history. They finished the regular season 15–1, becoming the seventh team to win at least 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule. The Panthers joined the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, 1985 Chicago Bears, 1998 Minnesota Vikings, 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2007 New England Patriots and the 2011 Green Bay Packers as the only teams to accomplish this feat.

They would be the final 15-game winner before the NFL expanded to a 17 game schedule in 2021. Their 15-win record would eventually be matched by the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs and 2024 Detroit Lions. Carolina started the season 14–0, not only setting franchise records for the best start and the longest single-season winning streak, but also posting the best start to a season by an NFC team since the NFL–AFL merger, breaking the 13–0 record previously shared with their division rival 2009 New Orleans Saints and the aforementioned 2011 Packers.

They joined the 1972 Miami Dolphins, 2007 Patriots and 2009 Indianapolis Colts, all from the AFC, as the only teams to reach 14–0. Carolina clinched their third straight NFC South title on December 6, when the Atlanta Falcons lost earlier that day, becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth that season, and giving the Panthers a home playoff game for the third consecutive year. The Panthers' undefeated streak came to an end at the hands of the Falcons in a Week 16 rematch.

A week later, however, Carolina routed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish 15–1, giving the Panthers home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Panthers had the league's top offense, and quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). In the playoffs, the Panthers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 31–24 in the divisional round, avenging their elimination at the hands of the Seahawks from the previous season.

The Panthers then blew out the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game by a score of 49–15 to reach their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Reader's Guide

The Panthers did not have selections in the third, sixth or seventh rounds as a result of the following trades: Trading their second-, third- and sixth- round selections (Nos. 57, 89 and 201 overall, respectively) to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the Rams' second-round selection (No. 41 overall); Trading their fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round selections (Nos. 124, 161 and 242 overall, respectively) to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' fourth-round selection (No. 102 overall).