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 in 1978. Carolina started the season 14–0, setting franchise records for the best start and the longest single-season winning streak, and posting the best start to a season by an NFC team since the NFL–AFL merger. 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 Their Own Story

The lights at Bank of America Stadium hummed with a low, electric buzz, the kind that vibrates in your sternum. It was late January, the Carolina air sharp enough to sting your cheeks, and the stands were a sea of green and black that had been chanting since the coin toss. Cam Newton stood in the huddle, breath fogging above his helmet, and glanced at the scoreboard: 9-9, fourth quarter, under two minutes. The Falcons' offense had just punted back, a short one, and the Panthers' defense—Kuechly barking assignments, the linemen resetting their stances in the cold—was about to take the field one more time. The crowd noise swallowed the commentary. You could feel the whole stadium holding its breath, ten thousand heartbeats syncing to one thought: *hold the line, hold the line, hold the line.* And then the snap, the hit, the ball tumbling into the snow-dusted turf, and the roar that shook the concrete beneath your feet.

Reader's Guide

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. In the NFL's title game, the Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 by a score of 24–10, thus becoming the fifth straight team to have at least 15 victories and not win the Super Bowl. As of 2025, this is most recent postseason win for the Panthers, having gone 0–3 (including the loss in Super Bowl 50) since. It was also the last time they clinched the NFC South until 2025.

Did You Know?

• 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 win at least 15 regula
• 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.
• The Panthers' 15-win record would eventually be matched by the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs and 2024 Detroit Lions.