2003 Carolina Panthers: Dramatic Endings

2003 Carolina Panthers: Dramatic Endings

[paypal_donation_button]2003 Carolina Panthers: Dramatic Endings

Entering the 2003 NFL season, the Carolina Panthers were in the middle of a playoff drought. They made their first trip to the playoffs in their second year of existence in 1996 and were waiting for their next invitation to the party. The Panthers finished the 2002 NFL season with a 7-9 record in coach John Fox’s first year with the team. What followed in 2003 wasn’t just a dramatic improvement. It was an improvement filled with close games and dramatic finishes.

The Panthers improved to 11-5 in 2003. They won the NFC South Division and earned a #3 seed in the playoffs. Quarterback Jake Delhomme led the offense to 15th in points scored. Delhomme threw for 3219 yards and 19 touchdowns. Steve Smith caught 88 of his 142 targets for 1110 yards and 7 touchdowns. The passing game was good enough, but it only served to keep defenses honest when they focused on the Carolina running game. Stephen Davis received an invitation to the Pro Bowl thanks to his superb 2003 campaign. Davis carried the ball 318 times for 1444 yards and 8 touchdowns for the Panthers offense.

The Panther’s defense was 10th in the NFL in points allowed. They were anchored by an excellent defensive line that featured Mike Rucker. Rucker led the team in sacks with 12. Rookie Julius Peppers was second on the team with 7 sacks.

The Panthers’ middle of the road rankings on offense and defense allowed them to fly under the radar during the playoffs. They began by defeating the rejuvenated Dallas Cowboys 29-10 at home. For the divisional round, they traveled to St. Louis to play the St. Louis Rams. The game was tight as the Rams’ Jeff Wilkins and the Panthers’ John Kasay traded field goals. Kasay and Wilkins combined for a total of eight field goals for the game. Wilkins kicked a field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Neither team scored in the first overtime so they entered a second period to decide who would advance to the NFC Championship game. With the first play of the second overtime, Jake Delhomme found Steve Smith for a 69-yard touchdown to win the game.

The following week in the NFC Championship game, the Panthers defense went to work on Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. McNabb was intercepted three times as he was limited to 10 completions and 100 yards passing. Jake Delhomme didn’t have better numbers but he did throw one touchdown pass and zero interceptions. Muhsin Muhammad and DeShaun Foster scored the touchdowns for the Panthers who won the game 14-3.

For the first time in their franchise’s history, the Panthers were going to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots awaited them for Super Bowl XXXVIII. After a scoreless 1st quarter, Deion Branch and Tom Brady would open the scoring late in the 2nd quarter. Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme connected for a 39-yard touchdown to even the score until Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field for a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half. John Kasay snuck in a last second field goal to make the score 14-10 for the Patriots going into halftime.

The 3rd quarter was scoreless, but it was just the calm before the storm. The Patriots and the Panthers traded touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Muhsin Muhammad gave the Panthers a 22-21 lead before linebacker Mike Vrabel lined up on offense and caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to give the Patriots a 29-22 lead. Jake Delhomme would lead the Panthers down the field and find Ricky Proehl for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game with a little more than a minute remaining. For a moment it looked like the Panthers would go to overtime for the second time in the postseason. Tom Brady had other plans. He made a number of clutch throws to his receivers to set up a 41-yard field goal for the Patriots’ kicker, Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri made the field goal extinguishing the Panthers’ championship aspirations.