Cam Newton leads high-flying 2015 Carolina Panthers
General
Published on : 5/11/2024
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
Following a 7-8-1 campaign in 2014, few saw the Carolina Panthers as contenders heading into the 2015 NFL season.
Panthers Legend Steve Smith moved to Baltimore and produced a 1,000-yard receiving season in his first year with the Ravens. Jerricho Cotchery (48 receptions for 580 yards and one touchdown) didn’t match Smith’s production in 2014, and free agent signee Ted Ginn Jr. wasn’t seen as the true No. 1 receiver quarterback Cam Newton would need to find success in 2015.
Carolina’s defense was coming off a season ranked 21st in points surrendered, and there were serious questions about whether the unit could return to the form that left them ranked second in points surrendered in 2013 under coordinator Sean McDermott.
In a division that included quarterbacks Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, competition would be fierce at the game’s marquis position. The challenge for the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft selection from 2011: elevate his game and help Carolina grow into a force to be reckoned with.
After a 20-9 win over a weak Jacksonville Jaguars team in Week 1, fans would have been hard-pressed to find many people picking Newton as their early pick for league MVP. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 175 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 71.3 passer rating. On the ground: 14 carries for 35 yards.
The next week, Newton completed 18 of 37 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 71.3 passer rating in a 24-17 win over the Houston Texans. On the ground, he carried 10 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Not quite MVP numbers, but the team took care of business through two games.
From there, Newton took off.
Over the next 14 games, he completed 260 of 427 passes (61 percent) for 3,467 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 103.8 passer rating. On the ground, he ran 108 times for 525 yards and nine touchdowns. The Panthers finished the regular season 15-1, and Newton led the National Football League with 45 total touchdowns (35 passing, 10 rushing).
The 2015 Panthers roster featured 10 Pro Bowl selections: Newton, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, Greg Olsen, Trai Turner, Ryan Kalil, Kawann Short, Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman. Six of those players earned first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press: Newton, Tolbert, Kalil, Davis, Kuechly and Norman. Olsen and Short were second-teamers.
A team many picked for last in the offseason finished at the top of their division while becoming the fifth team in NFL history to win 15 or more regular-season games, joining the 1984 San Francisco 49ers (15-1), 1985 Chicago Bears (15-1), 1998 Minnesota Vikings (15-1) and the 2007 New England Patriots (16-0).
Newton was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Carolina’s first postseason challenge came in the form of the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. For the fifth consecutive season, the Seahawks’ defense ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points per-game surrendered. Quarterback Russell Wilson ascended further on the offensive side of the ball, leading the NFL with a 110.1 passer rating.
What many expected to be a tightly contested game morphed into a 31-0 halftime lead for Newton and the Panthers. While Wilson and the Seahawks battled back in the second half, they eventually fell 31-24.
The stage was set for the two hottest teams in professional football to collide in the NFC Championship Game. The 14-3 Arizona Cardinals, coached by Bruce Arians and quarterbacked by Carson Palmer, came in with the league’s second-ranked scoring offense. A shootout between the game’s top two units was the expectation.
A decisive 49-15 win for the Panthers was the result.
Carolina’s dominant defense sacked Palmer three times and hauled in four interceptions. Newton went off on Arizona’s defense, completing 19 of 28 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 117.4 passer rating. On the ground, he added 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers’ 49 points remain the record for an NFC Championship Game.
While their 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 prevented the Panthers from becoming the third team in NFL history to win 18 games and a Super Bowl, their dominant 2015 run cannot be overlooked.
Carolina finished the season with a 10-0 record at home. If you expand their window back into 2014 and into 2016, the Panthers won 14 consecutive games at home, with three of those wins coming in the postseason.
That run remains one of the more impressive stretches in NFL history.
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
Following a 7-8-1 campaign in 2014, few saw the Carolina Panthers as contenders heading into the 2015 NFL season.
Panthers Legend Steve Smith moved to Baltimore and produced a 1,000-yard receiving season in his first year with the Ravens. Jerricho Cotchery (48 receptions for 580 yards and one touchdown) didn’t match Smith’s production in 2014, and free agent signee Ted Ginn Jr. wasn’t seen as the true No. 1 receiver quarterback Cam Newton would need to find success in 2015.
Carolina’s defense was coming off a season ranked 21st in points surrendered, and there were serious questions about whether the unit could return to the form that left them ranked second in points surrendered in 2013 under coordinator Sean McDermott.
In a division that included quarterbacks Drew Brees and Matt Ryan, competition would be fierce at the game’s marquis position. The challenge for the NFL’s No. 1 overall draft selection from 2011: elevate his game and help Carolina grow into a force to be reckoned with.
After a 20-9 win over a weak Jacksonville Jaguars team in Week 1, fans would have been hard-pressed to find many people picking Newton as their early pick for league MVP. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 175 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 71.3 passer rating. On the ground: 14 carries for 35 yards.
The next week, Newton completed 18 of 37 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 71.3 passer rating in a 24-17 win over the Houston Texans. On the ground, he carried 10 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Not quite MVP numbers, but the team took care of business through two games.
Sluggish start gives way to dominant run
From there, Newton took off.
Over the next 14 games, he completed 260 of 427 passes (61 percent) for 3,467 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 103.8 passer rating. On the ground, he ran 108 times for 525 yards and nine touchdowns. The Panthers finished the regular season 15-1, and Newton led the National Football League with 45 total touchdowns (35 passing, 10 rushing).
The 2015 Panthers roster featured 10 Pro Bowl selections: Newton, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, Greg Olsen, Trai Turner, Ryan Kalil, Kawann Short, Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman. Six of those players earned first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press: Newton, Tolbert, Kalil, Davis, Kuechly and Norman. Olsen and Short were second-teamers.
A team many picked for last in the offseason finished at the top of their division while becoming the fifth team in NFL history to win 15 or more regular-season games, joining the 1984 San Francisco 49ers (15-1), 1985 Chicago Bears (15-1), 1998 Minnesota Vikings (15-1) and the 2007 New England Patriots (16-0).
Newton was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Rolling to the Super Bowl
Carolina’s first postseason challenge came in the form of the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. For the fifth consecutive season, the Seahawks’ defense ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points per-game surrendered. Quarterback Russell Wilson ascended further on the offensive side of the ball, leading the NFL with a 110.1 passer rating.
What many expected to be a tightly contested game morphed into a 31-0 halftime lead for Newton and the Panthers. While Wilson and the Seahawks battled back in the second half, they eventually fell 31-24.
The stage was set for the two hottest teams in professional football to collide in the NFC Championship Game. The 14-3 Arizona Cardinals, coached by Bruce Arians and quarterbacked by Carson Palmer, came in with the league’s second-ranked scoring offense. A shootout between the game’s top two units was the expectation.
A decisive 49-15 win for the Panthers was the result.
Carolina’s dominant defense sacked Palmer three times and hauled in four interceptions. Newton went off on Arizona’s defense, completing 19 of 28 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 117.4 passer rating. On the ground, he added 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers’ 49 points remain the record for an NFC Championship Game.
While their 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 prevented the Panthers from becoming the third team in NFL history to win 18 games and a Super Bowl, their dominant 2015 run cannot be overlooked.
Carolina finished the season with a 10-0 record at home. If you expand their window back into 2014 and into 2016, the Panthers won 14 consecutive games at home, with three of those wins coming in the postseason.
That run remains one of the more impressive stretches in NFL history.
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
More of this series
- Analysis: Charlie Conerly’s giant accomplishments hold up as eras pass
- Y.A. Tittle’s journey from San Francisco to New York
- Analysis: An appreciation of Sammy Baugh’s historic 1943 season
- Legendary seasons for Sid Luckman, Peyton Manning separated by 70 years
- Looking back at TB12’s historic 2011 season 12 years later
- Russell Wilson’s decade of dominance in Seattle remains elite
- Roger Staubach’s 1971: The greatest season you’ve never heard about
- Silver anniversary: Randall Cunningham’s solid gold season with Vikings
- 50 years since Unitas’ last pass: Some things you might not know about No. 19
- Race to the top: Brady’s battle with Brees for the NFL’s most hallowed record
- Analysis: Did Andrew Luck exceed hype or fall short?
- Silver anniversary of John’s Elway’s sterling final game
- As cold as ice: Perception of Matt Ryan’s legacy after ‘28-3’
- Cam Newton leads high-flying 2015 Carolina Panthers
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