Throwback Game of the Week - CAR @ NE
Week 14: Carolina at New England
There’s not much of a rivalry between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots. That is, at least not in the regular season. The Panthers and Patriots were opponents in Super Bowl XXXVIII with New England narrowly escaping with the 32-29 victory. But, the two clubs meet for only the fourth time in the regular season when they take the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Carolina has won two of the three previous meetings and has outscored New England 72-53 in those matchups.
First Time:
Oct. 29, 1995 –The expansion Panthers recorded its first overtime victory in Week 9 of its inaugural season against the Patriots (see Throwback Game below).
Last Time:
Sept. 18, 2005 – Running back Stephen Davis rushed for 77 yards and 3 TDs to lead Carolina to a thrilling 27-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots. The Panthers’ swarming defense registered many big plays including a key interception by Will Witherspoon that set up a John Kasay field goal. Special teams contributed with a 76-yard punt return by Chris Gamble that led to Davis’s second TD.
Hall of Fame Members
The Patriots have four members of its organization enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Guard John Hannah, in 1991, became the first Patriots player inducted. Hannah has been followed by cornerback Mike Haynes (1997) and linebackers Nick Buoniconti (2001) and Andre Tippett (2008). Carolina’s lone connection to a bronze bust in Canton is Class of 2006 enshrinee Reggie White who played his final NFL season with the Panthers in 2000.
Records found in the NFL Record Book
No team in NFL history has scored more points than the 2007 New England Patriots. The team racked up a record 589 points during its 16-0 regular season. Wide receiver Randy Moss led the way with 138 points via 23 TD catches while kicker Stephen Gostkowski added 137 points on 74 extra points and 21 field goals.
Thanks to the Detroit Lions last year, the Carolina Panthers have been removed as the holder of the record for consecutive losses in a season. The 2001 Panthers opened the year with a win before suffering a then-record 15 straight losses.
Throwback Game
Oct. 29, 1995
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| Derrick Moore recorded his fourth and final 100-yard day of his NFL career in Carolina’s win. |
The Panthers began their inaugural season with five straight losses but remained competitive. The wins soon followed as Carolina reeled off back-to-back victories over the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints before traveling to Foxboro Stadium to take on the Patriots. New England came into the game with a 2-5 record after they defeated the Buffalo Bills a week earlier to snap a five-game losing streak.
The Panthers set team-highs for offensive output as they jumped to a 17-3 lead. New England rallied and sent the game to overtime courtesy of two fourth quarter touchdown runs by Curtis Martin.
Carolina’s offense totaled 434 yards led by running back Derrick Moore who rushed for 119 yards and quarterback Kerry Collins who threw for 309 yards and 2 TDs.
Midway through the sudden death period, kicker John Kasay redeemed a missed field goal attempt that hit the upright in the closing seconds of regulation. He booted a 29-yard field goal at the 7:08 mark of overtime to give Carolina an expansion-team record third straight win. The Panthers followed the exciting finish with another win the following week to run their streak to four en route to a 7-9 mark which was also a best for a NFL expansion team.
| Carolina | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | - | 20 |
| New England | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | - | 17 |
| A– 60,064 | |||||||
| NE – FG Bahr 19 | |||||||
| CAR – FG Kasay 27 | |||||||
| CAR – Guilford 24 pass from Collins (Kasay kick) | |||||||
| CAR – Green 33 pass from Collins (Kasay kick) | |||||||
| NE – Martin 3 run (Bahr kick) | |||||||
| NE – Martin 2 run (Bahr kick) | |||||||
| CAR – FG Kasay 29 | |||||||
Game Program Cover | Official Gamebook (PDF)
More Panthers & Patriots on Profootballhof.com
Team histories
Carolina | New England
Photos
Panthers’ first-round picks
50 Years of Patriots QBs
Patriots in the Hall of Fame
Panthers ’95 expansion team
Artifacts
Andre Tippett’s helmet
Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jersey
Ticket from Panthers’ first game
Carolina’s 10th anniversary season celebrated
Some other stories on Panthers & Patriots
Patriots face Bills in AFL’s first game
Kasay moves ahead of Stenerud on Top 20 scorers
1985 Patriots wild run to the Super Bowl
Panthers’ memorable inaugural season
DeAngelo Williams enters Panthers record book
Patriots go 18-0 in ’07
Shula selects Week 15 winners
In our guest blog, the NFL's all-time winningest coach picks who he thinks will win in Week 15.