Panthers’ Best Moments Nos. 18 & 17: Double Entry Time
By Joseph Ochoa
Double Entry For Today
Welcome back to our Panthers’ Best Moments series, where we are keeping track of the Panthers’ best 25 moments to celebrate the teams 25th season in the National Football League.
If you missed our post from yesterday, where we break down the first start of Cam Newton and how it set in motion the current iteration of the Panthers, you can check it out here.
We are giving you a two-for-one special in this entry, two entries on one post. So let’s reveal moments 18 and 17 respectively.
No. 18: Carolina Defeats Chicago in the 2005 Divisional Round
The Panthers came into the season trying to find a way back to the postseason after finishing the 7-9 in 2004. The Panthers managed to find a way to an 11-win season but fell short of winning the division and were forced to play their playoff games on the road.
After dismantling the New York Giants in the wildcard round 23-0, the first shutout by a road team in the postseason since the 1979 NFC Championship Game, the Panthers traveled to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears in the divisional round.
It was one of the more impressive games the Panthers had on offense during the season, as the team gained over 400 yards of total offense, including over 300 passing yards for pro-bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme.
The game is often remembered, however, for the tremendous performance Steve Smith put on. Smith, who won the receiving triple-crown during the regular season, was uncoverable. Smith torched the Bears to the tune of 12 catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns, the first of which came on a 58-yard strike just one minute into the game.
The Panthers went on to win the game 29-23 and advanced to the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost Deshaun Foster to a broken ankle during the bout with the Bears, which hampered the team’s offense. Carolina went on to lose 34-14 and failed to reach it’s second Super Bowl in three seasons.
No. 17: Panthers Score Longest Passing Touchdown in Super Bowl History
Our 17th best moment comes as part of the team’s first appearance in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriot in Super Bowl XXXVIII. While the Panthers lost the game 32-29, the team did manage to set one record in the Super Bowl history books.
Late in the fourth quarter, Carolina was down 21-16 with just under seven minutes left in the game when Delhomme heaved the ball deep down the field to an open Musin Muhammad, who managed to fend off the cornerback covering him to score an 85-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 22-21 lead.
The play was the longest passing play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history and has yet to be broken by anyone since. The game also featured the most points scored total by two teams with 37 combined points.
Peter King formally of Sports Illustrated has referenced the game as one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time, but there will be more on that later in the countdown.
That’s it for this post on the Greatest Panthers’ Moments of All-Time, we will be back with more for you in the series.