Cat Crave
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Can the Panthers put together back-to-back winning seasons?

By Brandon Scott

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 24: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers celebrates defeating the Arizona Cardinals with a score of 49 to 15 to win the NFC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium on January 24, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 24: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers celebrates defeating the Arizona Cardinals with a score of 49 to 15 to win the NFC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium on January 24, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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The Carolina Panthers have never played two consecutive winning seasons in franchise history…

Considering the Carolina Panthers have been playing football for over twenty years, the fact they have never recorded back-to-back winning seasons is a bit odd. When you take into account the team has eight playoff appearances and six divisional titles, things get even more complicated.

Taking things to an entirely different level, Carolina also won three straight divisional championships at one point while still managing to not win over eight games in the middle. If the Panthers hope for a return to the playoffs in 2018, it is expected that this must be the year in order to break the streak.

Over the offseason Carolina has revamped their entire organization from top to bottom. Team founder and owner Jerry Richardson sold the team to David Tepper, a former minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and coach Ron Rivera has almost an entirely new staff.

Coupled with the personnel changes on the field, including losses of starting linemen Andrew Norwell on offense and Star Lotulelei on defense, the team’s performance projections remain a mystery.

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While these departures and changes are sure to impact production, the Panthers also have a solid core group of talented veterans and promising rookies in order to make a significant push for the playoffs. Beginning with quarterback Cam Newton and veteran tight end Greg Olsen, the offense has the potential to put up points at an impressive pace, especially under new coordinator Norv Turner.

Defensively, Thomas Davis will miss the first four games of the year but Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson should make up for his absence. If healthy, these two combined with one of the most dominating pass rushes in football should more than make up for any questions in the secondary.

The current over/under win projection win total for Carolina is nine and some analyst are taking the under. If so, the streak will continue until the Panthers can put together another winning season in hopes of doing the same a year later.

The closest Carolina has come to consecutive winning seasons is eight on two occasions. First, in 2006 following an 11 win year and then again in 2009 after 12 wins the season prior. Last year the Panthers won 11 games, their seventh double-digit win season.

Next: Bounceback Candidates for 2018

Unfortunately, the Panthers average just around seven wins after putting together a winning record indicating history is not in their favor.

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